Avatar: The Last Air Bender Book IV: Air
by Luna Kahlo
Summary: IT'S ALL COME DOWN TO THIS: the end of Aang's adventure. The FINAL BATTLE of the war:Zuko confronts Ozai,Iroh plays a priceless prank,and Aang reveals the remaining Airbenders.If you can read the long Harry Potter saga,this will be a breeze R
1. Chapter 1

I recommend reading my first two books Avatar: the Last Airbender Book II: Fire and Book III: Earth before this last Book. Thanks!

Dedication:

To Mom: For her sharp eye and attention to my characters, I couldn't have a better editor.

To Adam: who endures my rantings in large written chunks

To Michael: who loved Avatar before I did and listened to the story I wrote

THIS LAST CHAPTER IS YOURS

(Of course, all characters except Lenara and Xeilu are property of those creative, hard working writers and animators of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I take no credit for their work, just my own)

**The Avatar**

**Book 4**

**Air**

I.

Silver green waves breathed foam out onto the shore, then inhaled them back into the sea. Sokka knelt on the beach, cupping water in his hands. He wiped his face dry with the back of his sleeve and dipped his hand into the water again, only to pull up another dirty bottle.

"What the…" A shadow fell over him and he glanced up just in time to see the ten foot wave curl over on top of him. The water receded, leaving Sokka buried in the beach. He raised his head, spitting sand. A body lay on the shore. He scrambled on hands and knees to it, brushing sunset hair away from a pale, cold face.

"Well, what do you know," he murmured. Lenara turned her head aside and coughed the remains of the sea from her body. Her eyes adjusted and she smiled when Sokka came into focus.

"Best thing I've seen all day."

"You got off the ship?"

"I got off the ship."

"I didn't think he'd let you go."

"Well, he didn't have a choice-he knew I had something important to accomplish, so he…I didn't have a reason to stay. " She sat up, Sokka's arm around her shoulders.

"Aang and Katara?"

"Back at the camp."

"And we're how far from Roku's grave?"

"Forty miles to the Nibushi, as the bison flies."

"Okay, well, we'd better get movin," Lenara stood up, buckled and dropped as Sokka caught her under her arm.

"Are you okay?"

"Me? I'm fine. Just the swim took a lot out of me." She leaned against Sokka, her leather sack around her shoulder digging into his side. She pointed to the bottle Sokka had found moments ago.

"Could you get that?"

"Sure." He stooped down and scooped up the bottle. They began to stumble across the beach.

"Lenara?"

"Yeah?"

"Welcome back." She grinned, taking back some of her weight on her legs.

"Thanks, Sokka. Hey, is that penguin jerky?" She sniffed the air.

"Yep, that's breakfast."

"Great. I'm starved!" The corner of his lip turned up in a smile. She had left Zuko for her father's mission, he knew that. But he still felt pretty smug about Lenara being in his arms rather than the Weenie of the Fire Nation's.

II.

Aang dumped another armload of branches onto the fire. Katara tilted the pan, scrutinizing the progress of their breakfast. They both raised their heads as Sokka stepped into the clearing.

"Hey, you guys, guess what I found at the waterfront?" Aang shrugged.

"What?" Sokka reached into the foliage and pulled Lenara into the clearing. Katara laughed. Aang jumped to his feet.

"You're okay!" He threw his arms around the Water Chief's neck. She could hardly look down on him anymore; Aang had grown almost as tall as she was.

"Yeah, Aang, I'm fine. Oh," she sighed, encircling her arms around him like a kid sister, "it's good to see you." Aang released Lenara and Katara grasped her fellow water bender's hand. They touched noses, as was the formal greeting. The four circled the fire and crouched on the ground, fishing hot jerky out of the pan as they talked.

"So, you're time with the Fire Nation is over?"

"I bid them a fond farewell…for now."

Katara asked, "and did you learn to Fire bend?" Lenara squirted a flame into the kindling and the sticks popped in reply.

"I should be able to teach you the basics, Aang." Katara's eyes lit up.

"Great! That's all Aang needs to learn and then we can go after the comet and the Fire Lord!"

"Keep your fuzzy britches on, Katara," Sokka said through a mouthful of jerky, "we have to get up to the Nibushi first."

"Oh yeah, the Hotaru," Katara turned to Lenara, "Where is it?" Lenara unwrapped the cloth from a metal crescent moon in her lap. She held it up, the stones floating in the water rattled and echoed off the ore. The banner curled itself around her arm. Aang gasped.

"That's a Rü-lan!" Lenara grinned.

"That's right, Aang. Straight from the Western Air Temple to your Hotaru. Here," she handed the bell to Aang, "take good care of it, 'cause I'm not making another!"

"I will. Thank you."

"Don't thank me just yet. Let's see if it works first." Sokka picked up the bell, turning it over in his hands.

"Are you telling me this thing will call together an army?"

"So the old women's gossip on washing day goes. It can also be used to shatter mountains or glaciers, anything big and immobile. This all depends on how powerful the Avatar is. It amplifies your power. Just be careful not to aim it at your face when you use it." Sokka carefully handed the Hotaru back to Aang and he wrapped it back up and placed it in his pack.

"We should begin training right away, Aang. Spring is almost over and that comet is fast approaching the Fire Nation." Aang swallowed a handful of Lichi nuts, his alternative to the jerky. He air bent himself to his feet.

"Okay. Where should we practice?"

"How about a little further into the woods?" Katara tossed her uneaten jerky back in the pan.

"Can we watch?"

"Maybe later. Aang really needs to concentrate on learning Fire bending and I have a lot to teach him. How about we give you a demonstration later?"

"Sure!" Lenara and Aang left the camp. Katara wrapped the rest of the jerky and placed it in her knapsack.

"Glad she got away from the ship okay."

"Mmm." Sokka absentmindedly rolled out another sleeping mat.

"How are you doing?"

"Could be worse." Katara paused.

"Did…did you say anything about…" Sokka shook his head. It wasn't as if the thought hadn't occurred to him to let Lenara in on the silly, sadistic crush he had on her.

"I don't think she knows, which helps in the long run to salvage my dignity," he let out his frustration in one long breath, "I wish she'd never gotten on that ship."

"Are you serious? Do you think any of this would have turned out differently if she hadn't met Zuko?" Sokka gave his sister a bitter look.

"Maybe." Katara let out a ladylike snort.

"Tuh. Fat chance on the wishful thinking. What is it with you and girls, anyways?" Sokka was suddenly very interested in his boomerang.

"Just drop it, Katara."

"I don't want to see you set yourself up for a one-way fall into the pit of despair. Did you start liking her when you found out she wasn't interested in you? Why do you keep chasing the stuff at the top when it's clearly out of reach?"

"Not telling me something I don't already know." Katara folded her arms. Sokka relented under his sibling's gaze.

"It stinks watching her with him, okay? I don't trust Fire Nation, especially him! He's a rotten, ugly, stubborn weenie…"

"I know, Sokka," Katara sat down and dropped her head on her brother's shoulder, "I hate seeing you torn like this. But what else can you do?"  
"I can hate his guts. Yeah, it's practical and within my means…"

"Sokka…"

"I hear you, Katara, but I'm not going to stop feeling the way I do about her now just because I know better. Maybe I'll come to my senses one day and drag my sorry sucker of a head out of my rear, but until then, I guess I prefer to torture myself by being at her side than against her. I don't know, maybe I'm tired of everyone telling me I have to kiss more girls, so I pick the one I'll never kiss. Maybe I'm tired of relying on instincts through this whole journey and for once I'd like to go against everything my brain tells me is dumb or hopeless. I can't just forget things I feel strongly about." Katara put her arm around Sokka's middle. She didn't understand, but accepted it for her brother's sake. This was how Sokka found refuge from the world-in another's happiness. And it may not be the exact kind of love he hoped for, but a slice of light in all this cloud was that her brother had the unrelenting affection of a girl who wouldn't leave him because of another beau-Lenara loved Sokka like a brother.

The water tribe siblings sat in silence for a brief moment. Trees groaned, birds coughed. Sokka began to sand a ragged chunk torn from his club. Katara stood and walked over to Appa and stroked his head. The clouds above, as restless as they, rolled and trembled in the grey anxious sky.


	2. Chapter 2

III.

Rich green shadows were ripped by small patches of light from holes made in the trees. The long shadows of Aang and Lenara joined them. Lenara began with the basics-Iroh would have been proud.

"Remember to use your breath instead of your muscle, to command the strength of the fire. Everyone's Fire Soul is different, so you'll have to find a pattern that's comfortable for you." Aang tried taking a huge breath and squeezed it out through his arm. A spark popped from his fist.

"Easy, Aang. You can't force fire. Let it flow, just breathe a little slower and…" a long, graceful flame shot from Aang's fist, "you'll get it."

"So, this is what Roku felt when he used fire?"

"Probably. It _was_ his element. I'm used to my body feeling cold, not warm; it's so awkward switching back and forth." Aang watched Lenara's eyes become unfocused, as if she were lost somewhere else. She unconsciously scratched the scar on her palm and Aang flipped her hand over to get a better look.

"Ouch! Where'd you get that?"

"On the ship. I was careless and got cut."

"But it looks like it was burned."

"It was. They don't have much in the way of medical stuff…or sewing supplies, for that matter."

"Sokka said something about Zuko," Aang wanted to tread lightly here," that he helped heal it…" Lenara clenched her fist and released it. It still felt warm. That was a comfort.

"You care about him, don't you?"

"Would you be disappointed in me if I said yes?" Aang shook his head. She said:

"It's probably a lost cause anyways. He's the future ruler of the Fire Nation and I'm a Water Tribe Chief out on holiday. We're way too different."

"Not so different that he couldn't reach you when you were lost to your Fire Soul," Aang pointed out. He tried another practice shot, then turned to Lenara.

"Do you think he could help me stop this war?"

"I have no doubt. He's the Fire Nation's best hope of regaining some peace. I think he'll turn out to be a great leader." Aang sat down on an overturned tree.

"I never understood why he was trying to capture me until I heard how he had disagreed with his father about the war. I can't believe he was banished in return. He doesn't seem mean-he wanted to save his people, heck, he even rescued me."

"Zuko's reasons are his own and I don't think even_ he_ fully understands them. His relationship with the Fire Lord is something I'll personally never comprehend. I guess it's because my father and I were really close."

"Yeah, just like me and Gyatso." Lenara perched on the log beside Aang.

"I'm sorry you had to leave the ship because of me," Aang replied.

"Aw, Aang, don't apologize. I can't afford the luxury of Zuko's company right now. That's just the way it is."

"Maybe one day you can," Aang replied. Lenara said nothing; she picked a twig off of the dying tree instead.

"Titles shouldn't mean anything, Aang. Just because you're the Avatar doesn't mean you shouldn't get to live a normal person's life." Aang could tell she wasn't just thinking of him when she mentioned titles.

"Yeah, but we gotta make due with what we're given, Lenara, titles included. I still get in plenty of penguin sledding and koi surfing. Besides, even if I weren't the Avatar, I'd want to do whatever I could to help stop this war. Those with a title may feel obligated, but it's those without a title who want to help that I admire most. At least they care enough to do something."

"Yeah, apathy drives me crazy," Lenara muttered. They shared an understanding smile.

"Uh, would it make me sound lame if I told you I'm kinda nervous?"

"Wouldn't harm your credibility with me one bit, Aang. Even the Avatar is allowed to be nervous if he's never saved the world before. Your friends are with you. We **all** have never done this before, but the time to hesitate is through, Aang. Are you ready?" Aang thought about everything he had gone through-the empty Air Bender temples, refugees from the Earth Kingdom, waking from his sleep in the glacier to see Katara's beautiful smile, warring villages, child outlaws, dead mentors…

Aang let the wind that rippled the trees blow around him, creating a funnel that carried him up like a sock in the breeze. He _could_ just escape all this, leave it all behind, it would be easy…but that would be the coward's way out. And he wanted to be one of the people he respected, one that stood fast and fought hard. He was finished running from Zuko's ship and hiding from Zhao. It was time to finish this.

Aang descended back to the clearing. Lenara slid off the log and stood in front of him.

"Everything okay?" Aang thought she already knew the answer.

"Yeah. I'm ready."

"Okay. Let's move on to the Dragon step, then."

IV.

Day passed to night and the next morning a red sun had risen to greet the four travelers.

"Bad omen," Sokka muttered.

"Blood's gonna run this day," Lenara murmured, shouldering her satchel.

"Oh, cut it out, you superstitious nerds! Think positive!" Katara rolled her eyes and scrambled up Appa.

"Hold on, Katara. My instincts are telling me we'd better walk." Aang and Katara groaned.

"Not again!"

"We're too close to the Fire Nation. We'll be crossing their border today. We need to keep our profile low."

"So, does this mean Sokka's Instincts will be carrying our gear for us?" Sokka gave his sister a look and strapped on his gear, none too happy with the decision himself.

"What was that about thinking positive, Katara?" Lenara grinned as she took half of Katara's pack, "Sokka's right. We need to get to the Nibushi unnoticed and Appa does tend to stand out. No offense, my friend," she patted Appa's wide flank. He grunted.

"Could we at least ride Appa?" Katara whined.

"Let's give Appa a break. He's done so much for us already. He deserves to take it easy, don't you think?"

"Yeah, we owe him a lot, don't we, boy?" Aang scratched Appa's chin and he rolled his purple tongue up Aang's body, the bison equivalent of a hug. Aang laughed. Sokka stuck out his own tongue in disgust.

"Let's get moving." They walked through the forest at a quick pace, Sokka leading. An hour passed. The forest began to slope down, a sure sign they were heading into the Fire Nation. Lenara jogged up to Sokka.

"How far do you think we are now?"

"From the border, we're about twenty miles out. We'll make it by sunset."

"Great." They walked in silence another mile, scaling a stack of fallen trees. Sokka held out his hand for Lenara, but she pushed it away.

"I'm okay, thanks." She climbed the slimy trunks and slid down the other side, her foot suddenly caught and she pitched forward. Sokka caught her before she landed face first on the ground.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just getting in my daily requirement of clumsiness, that's all." She stood, but Sokka stayed close, waiting for Aang and Katara to guide Appa over the blockage, like vessels trying to navigate a clogged heart.

"How's your ankle?"

"Sore, but it won't slow me down."

"Just let me know if it hurts too much. I'll carry you."

"I'm fine, Sokka. I don't let boys haul me around like a sack of rice just because I got hurt. It happens. I'll deal with it. If boys are expected to live with sprained ankles, then so can I, right?" she turned up her mouth in a mischievous grin. Sokka shook his head.

"Fine. Just don't come crying to me when it's all purple and swollen."

"I won't."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Great."

"I know it's great." Sokka turned away from Lenara and smirked. Just like a sister. They pressed on.

Near sunset, the trees thinned and a great, dry plain stretched beyond the burned forest, like skin stretched from a laceration that has healed terribly wrong. The deep ruts in the overturned land seemed to run up to the border of the Fire Nation, ringed with a high wall. It was just a mile or so away.

"There it is," Lenara said, sweat running down her pale brow.

"You don't look so good," Katara wiped some of the moisture from her companion's forehead with her sleeve. Sokka stepped in front of them.

"Let me see it."

"See what?" Aang eyed Sokka, puzzled. Lenara bent and raised the pant leg of her torn Fire Nation garb. Her ankle was an ugly blackish purple, reminding Aang of rotten plums in the hot sun. Katara gasped.

"What happened?" Sokka unshouldered Lenara's pack without a word of protest from her. He discarded his own, taking them both up to Appa's saddle.

"Sorry, Appa, but it's only one more mile." He jumped down and knelt in front of Lenara.

"C'mon."

"Why don't I just ride Appa?"

"Those branches are getting lower and I don't want to risk hurting it any more than it is." Lenara nodded, too exhausted to argue any further. She leaned forward against Sokka's back. He stood, gained his balance, tucked his arms around her legs and felt her arms circle his neck.

"Hold on. Okay, let's go." Katara smiled to herself. Sokka couldn't let go of his role as protector. They walked the last mile a little slower, keeping their eyes open for soldiers lurking in the woods.

Sokka stopped at the edge of the forest. Campfires shuddered in golden dances everywhere, like stars that were scattered on the ground. Guards could be heard eating their evening meal. The smell of hot rice made Sokka jealous. Aang glanced at the line of drool Sokka sucked back into his mouth.

"What now?"

"We head back into the forest until we can't see their fires and set up camp." Lenara stirred and rested her chin on Sokka's shoulder. His back felt damp with sweat.

"Head east. I heard something stir in the west."

"Okay." The group waded into the dark forest. The fires were growing dim. Aang stumbled. Lenara was struggling to keep herself conscious.

"Hold on, Sokka." She held out her fist, and a flame wrapped itself around her wrist and enclosed her hand.

"Aang, give it a try." Aang created his own lantern and they continued on. Lenara sighed, letting her flame wink out. She closed her eyes, her hands loosely draped over Sokka's shoulders.

"Is she asleep?" Sokka whispered to Katara.

"Almost."  
"Let's stop here, then." Aang grabbed the sleeping bag from his pack and spread it out. Sokka knelt and Katara lowered Lenara onto the sleeping bag. She topped the Water Chief off with a blanket from her own pack.

"Aang and I will get some wood for a fire," Katara explained and they disappeared into the darkness, taking the only light with them. Sokka rolled out the other mats and blankets. Lenara stirred and sat up. She felt her forehead. It was extremely hot, so hot that she jumped when she touched it. Blisters began to form on her fingertips.

"Lousy Fire Soul," she muttered, "must be my fever." Sokka walked over to her.

"I should wrap that ankle."

"Don't touch me. My Fire Soul is reacting to my fever. I just burned myself touching my own forehead." Sokka unwrapped one of his wristbands and wound it around his right hand. He took the other band and slung it over his shoulder.

"Okay, Doctor Sokka is ready for the examination. Let's take a look at that ankle." Lenara let out a weak laugh. Sokka grinned and rolled Lenara's pant leg up to the knee, then removed her boot and sock. The bruise was ugly, but not as swollen as he'd thought. He stuck of few leaves of eucalyptus on her ankle for the pain, then used his other wristband to bandage up the ankle.

"Make it tight. I don't care if it hurts."

"Hey, who's the doctor here?"

"Uh, neither of us." Sokka finished knotting the ends of the bandage.

"How's that?"

"Much better. Thank you." She pushed her pant leg down. Sokka sat on the mat next to hers, removing his boomerang and his knife, lodging them both under his sack, which doubled as a pillow. The twilit blue sky was a lace pattern between the black leaves, allowing very little light to filter down into the forest. Lenara held out her palm and a small flame grew to life. Sokka watched the fire, hypnotized.

"You shouldn't do that, you know. You'll make your fever worse. Save your energy."

"I'll be fine until Aang and Katara get back. You worry too much."

"Can't help it," Sokka mumbled, resting his chin in his hand, "guess it's just second nature after our father left." Lenara felt lightheaded, but shook it off.

"Sokka, do _you_ think Aang will be able to stop that comet?"

"Wait-you're doubting Aang? That's not like you…it's gotta be the fever talking." Sokka leaned forward, but Lenara moved away.

"I'm serious, Sokka. Aang has been through a lot. You've been with him much longer than I have. Do you think he's up to it?"

"Well, sure. He's not a dumb kid. He's pretty goofy, but Aang takes being the Avatar very seriously. Well, unless he's licking honey off my pant leg."

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Have you ever seen his Avatar Spirit?" Sokka met her eyes. His look said it all.

"I take that as a 'yes'. Is it only activated when his life is threatened or when he is upset?""Most of the time."

"That's rough. Having to control both a Wind Soul _and_ the Avatar Spirit. Not to mention the other three elements he's connected to. I sometimes wish Aang didn't have to be the Avatar, so he could just be a regular kid."

"You and me both."

"But," Lenara leaned back on her elbows," I think if anyone had to be the next Avatar, I'm glad it's Aang. It could have been a lot worse, you know. The powerful Avatar spirit in the body of an unstable, angry person-that would have been a disaster in the making." Lenara lay her head down on her mat, turning on her side to face Sokka.

"Do you hear them?" Sokka lowered his head close to Lenara, ear to the ground. He heard faint footsteps, two people, both with a lively step.

"Yep. They're on their way back." He suddenly noticed how close he was to Lenara. He swallowed, as streak of red brushing his cheeks. Lenara's eyes were closed, her breathing slow and deep. She had finally fallen asleep. Sokka threw caution to the wind and reached out, tucking a rouge strand of hair behind her ear. Appa grunted, watching Sokka with a warm, tender eye. Sokka whispered his confessional:

"I know you'll never care about me like you do _him_, but I'll always be here for you if he isn't." A branch snapped and he shot up, knife clutched in his hand.

"Little jumpy, Sokka?" Katara emerged from the brush and dumped the branches unceremoniously in a heap on the carpet of pine needles littering the ground. Aang added his to the pile.

"Okay, Katara, watch this!" Aang blasted the kindling with a controlled fireball. The campfire snapped, bright and warm, throwing shadows on the campsite.

"Pretty impressive, Aang." Katara unrolled the jerky from the morning before. She glanced at Lenara.

"She still asleep?" Sokka glanced over the fire at his sister.

"Yes."

"Well, I'll save a few pieces for her if she gets hungry."

"I'll keep first watch," Sokka replied, munching on the jerky without actually tasting it. Aang dug into his bag of Lichi nuts and berries.

"Running low on food," he muttered. He fed a few to Mo-mo, then hopped up and shared the rest with Appa. Sokka watched him laugh as Appa licked the last few berries out of his hands. 'If Aang stops this war,' Sokka thought, 'maybe he can try to start living like a normal kid.'


	3. Chapter 3

V.

Morning arrived overcast and grey-blue clouds choked the sky. It smelled like rain.

Sokka opened one eye. He was sitting up against a rough oak, a blanket hung around his shoulders. He refused to wake anyone else for the next watch and had kept lookout the entire night. He glanced at Lenara's mat. It was empty. He got up, searching the surrounding area. A few yards away from the camp, he found her reclined on the thick branch of a tree, one leg swinging free, back against the trunk. She held a weathered wood instrument, propped under her chin. Her left hand steadied the instrument while her right poised a curved arrow above it. Sokka wondered what she was intending to do when she drew the arrow across the middle of the instrument and a haunting, low chord sounded from the depths of the hollow wood.

A few higher notes, like the whisper of a spirit restless, joined the low chord. The neck tipped down as Lenara reached for the next note, elbow bent up to her ear as she released the music from the bowl of the wood. It was hypnotic and Sokka slipped his fingers down the trunk of a nearby tree, leaning out from behind it to watch her play. Her fingers seemed to stroke the strings, tiny coaxes that moved the music along. A clump of loose red strands of hair brushed the neck of the instrument and hung over her closed eyes.

She played on, until the tune moved to a swell that seemed to silence every bird brash enough to contest with it. The rhythm matched the pace of Sokka's heart and he became aware he was holding his breath so nothing would compete with the sound of the song. The music bled into the trees and up through the branches until it pieced off into the wind, reminding Sokka of cold nights, northern lights above the glaciers, solitary mornings before dawn. She finished with a long note, a shudder like an old tree that is weary with time. Lenara shoved the arrow under her armpit and plucked a string. She twisted one of the wooden pegs at the top of the instrument.

"You can come out now, Sokka." He awoke from his trance and left the cover of the tree.

"How'd you know?"

"I can feel someone watching me, my warrior. The kids are still asleep, I suppose?"

"Yep. Aang's got a record drool line going." Lenara laughed and plucked the string again. She nodded her satisfaction.

"Well, let him sleep. He'll not have many more nights for that." Sokka walked under the tree she was perched in and bent his neck up to her.

"How's your fever?"

"Gone. Sweat it out last night."

"And your ankle?" She wiggled her dangling foot.

"Fine, thanks to Doctor Sokka." He gave her a look. Lenara tossed the bow down to the grass and handed Sokka the instrument. She rolled on her stomach and hung from the branch monkeylike. Sokka tried to set the instrument aside to help her, but she let go of the branch and took the weight of the drop on her good ankle, the other poised up for balance.

"What is this thing?"

"It's a fiddle. I 'borrowed' it from Bajoü."

"What's a Bajoü?"

"One of the crewmembers on Zuko's ship."

"Ah. Where'd you learn to play?"

"My aunt Chihüe. She was champion, but I learned a few things from her. Wanna give it a try?" Sokka gave the fiddle a wary look and pushed it out to Lenara sheepishly.

"I don't think so. I'm pretty tone-deaf." Lenara gently pushed the fiddle back to Sokka and picked up her bow.

"C'mon, Sokka. I'll show you."

"O-okay," Sokka's voice cracked and slid up an octave to the tune of eight years old. He wished for a rift to open up in the earth and swallow him whole.

"First, tuck it under your chin-there you go-then hold the neck with your left and…" she stepped behind Sokka, placing her cool fingers on top of his. She rested the stick, covered with fine hairs, over the strings, and guided Sokka's right hand to grip the bow. She then set her hand on top of his.

"Okay," she pressed his finger down on a string and slowly pulled the bow across. A ragged note squeaked from the fiddle, "loosen up your right hand, just a light pressure should do it." She changed fingers, his third now held down an outside string and she pulled his hand across again, only this time, a clear note sung from the fiddle.

"Hey! I did it!"

"Sure did." She paused, her hand hovered over his own.

"What is it?"

"We have an audience." Katara and Aang emerged from behind a couple of trees. Sokka sighed and lowered his arms. 'Lousy timing, you guys,' he thought.

"Was that you, Sokka, playing that song?" Katara gaped at the fiddle in her brother's hand.

"Well, Lenara actually played the song, but I figured I'd give her a few pointers on the…uh…"

"Fiddle?" Lenara prompted.

"Right." Sokka handed her the instrument and she tucked it back into a drawstring bag. They headed back to camp. Katara moved to her brother's side.

"What was that all about?"

"Not what you think."

"I suppose not. Try to wipe that drool from your chin." They packed up camp. Appa stayed behind with Mo-mo in the forest. The four ducked and scrambled past the tents of the sleeping soldiers.

"That's odd. There's not even a look-out on duty." Sokka whispered.

"Don't look a gift bison in the mouth," Aang replied, "move!" They jumped over soaked logs and overturned teacups and sprinted for the rocky cover of the first volcanoes that lined the north flank of the Fire Nation. The sky was menacing, the clouds rumbled in response to the active volcanoes.

"Which volcano is it? They all look alike?" Katara muttered. Lenara turned to Aang.

"What do you think? Can you use your Avatar Spirit to connect with Roku?" Aang closed his eyes, concentrating. Minutes passed. Sokka shifted restlessly.

"This isn't going to work."

"Trust me, Sokka," Aang's eyes suddenly snapped open, a blue light flickered out of them. He grinned.

"It's the next volcano over, in front of the tall peak of Shujiwara." They walked up the rising path, using the dense brush for cover. Aang glanced up. He could see the brown yawn of the mouth of the cave. Roku's symbol was etched in the rock.

"There it is! C'mon!" Aang sprinted from the brush. At that moment, two Fire Nation guards appeared over the rise.

"Aang!" Katara hissed. A shadow suddenly darted from behind a tree, snatched the Avatar, and disappeared into the foliage on the other side of the pass.

"Aang!" Sokka grabbed his club, but Lenara held out her arm, blocking Sokka.

"Wait." The soldiers passed. They never noticed the Avatar or his quick vanishing act. Lenara crept from the brush, signaling to Sokka and Katara when the path was clear. They approached a large shrub that seemed to push the very trees beside it away. Aang's captor was here. Lenara's fist sparked to life as Sokka readied his club.

"Release the Avatar and show yourself!" The shrub moved and Aang was pushed out. He regained his balance and glanced back at the shrub. Katara took Aang's hand as Lenara shot a tall flame into the air.

"That was your last warning! Show yourself-NOW!"

"You have a strange way of thanking people," a voice like silk scratched over rocks came from the brush. The branches parted and Prince Zuko stepped out. Lenara lowered her hand, the flame still rippled around her fist. Sokka stepped towards Zuko, club gripped in white knuckles, but Aang caught him by the elbow. Lenara, for once in her life, was speechless. Zuko enjoyed the look on her face.

"It's good to see you caught without a snappy comeback." She found her voice. The flame died.

"You figured it out, then?"

"Yes, with Uncle's help." General Iroh brushed back the limbs of the shrub, as if on cue, and stood behind his nephew. Sokka ripped free of Aang's grip and eyed Zuko, frowning.

"What exactly did he figure out?"

"I told him where we would be."

"You did **WHAT?**" Sokka spun Lenara to face him, his hands locked on her arms, "Are you out of your mind? He's been trying to capture Aang since we met him and you've decided to simply tell him where Aang will be? Why don't you just hand him over right now and save everyone the trouble?"  
"Sokka, please…"

"How could you do this, Lenara? We're your friends! You betrayed Aang!"

"Sokka, let me explain…" tears spilled from her green eyes, but Sokka cut her off.

"You'd throw it all away for _HIM_? Your father must be disgusted!" Zuko suddenly stepped forward. He brushed Sokka's hands away from Lenara. Sokka glared, a snarl curling his lip.

"Be silent. Don't talk about things you can't comprehend." Sokka stepped right up to Zuko's face.

"Excuse me? I'll talk about them if I want!"

"Don't make me angry, boy. I've seen you fight-it's pitiful." Zuko turned to Lenara, her head hung in shame.

"Lenara told us so we could protect the Avatar from my father's army. We know the land best."

"And you expect us to believe you would help us when all you've ever done is try to capture Aang?" Katara cried. Aang stepped between the enraged Sokka and the annoyed Prince.

"I believe them, Katara. That should be enough. And Sokka," Aang turned, "calm down. She didn't betray me…or you." Aang walked to Lenara and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, exposing her wet, sorrowful eye.

"Don't cry Lenara. Sokka didn't mean anything by it-he's just grumpy because we're out of penguin jerky." Lenara smiled.

"Thanks, Aang." Sokka opened his mouth, but caught General Iroh's eye, which seemed to say 'think about it later', and he fell silent. Iroh began to stroll up the path.

"Well, we should get going. The soldiers won't sleep forever on the tea they drank."

"Why?" Lenara asked, "wait-I'm asking the wrong question. What did you do to the tea, Iroh?" He gave her a sly smile.

"Oh, nothing. I just switched their green tea for a nighttime chamomile. And a dash of opium, for flavor."

"You didn't…that is so wrong," Katara replied with a smile.

"Not as wrong as taking all of their underwear and using it to kindle the bonfire after they fell asleep!" Iroh roared with laughter. Sokka and Katara followed the old man. Aang paused. He watched Lenara clear the water from her eyes as Zuko tried to stare else ware until she was finished. Aang sent a gentle breeze their way and they both looked up.

"You two coming?" Lenara nodded. She felt Zuko's rough thumb smooth a straggling tear under her eye and he turned to catch up to his uncle. She refused to speak-it would ruin everything.

VI.

They stopped at a rise of rocky shelves that led the way up to Roku's grave. Sokka glanced around. He heard faint footsteps.

"Aang, you'd better get moving. We don't have much time." Aang gripped the bell and crouched low. He jumped, but landed back on his feet. He tried again. And again.

"Aang, this is no time to practice acting like a frog-get up there!"

"I can't! I can't Air bend myself!" Zuko held out his fist and frowned as a flame failed to spread out from it. General Iroh placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder.

"We are at the Nibushi-one of the four neutral areas. Each Kingdom has one. While in the presence of the Nibushi, all bending is strictly prohibited."

"So, Aang can't get up to the volcano? But he's the Avatar!" Katara pointed out. Iroh shrugged.

"He will need to find another way up the mountain."

"Too bad Appa's not here," Katara muttered.

"Wouldn't work anyways. Appa bends the air, too," Aang sighed. A loud snap made them all turn.

"Fire Nation soldiers." Lenara spun to Aang.

"Time to climb like you've never climbed before. We'll hold them off!"

"I'll go with you, Aang," Katara volunteered.

"Be careful," Sokka grabbed his sister's arm, trying to read her eyes. She gave him a grim smile and she and Aang sprinted up the path. Sokka welcomed the weight of his club in his hands.

"Got that boomerang on you, Sokka?" He turned, his veins ran cold like sleet off of bamboo. He was starting to feel guilty for losing his temper with Lenara. He handed over the only relic of his father's without a second thought.

She stooped and traced her fingers in the mud, then stood. Sokka's stomach sunk as he realized what she was about to do. He felt like the world's biggest jerk.

"Hold still." She ran a muddy finger under his eye, down the soft curve of his cheek to the hard line of his jaw. She repeated the mark on the other side of his face. Lenara stood back, scrutinizing her handiwork.

"That'll do. Sokka, if you could…" she pulled her hair away from her face. Iroh and Zuko watched with interest. Sokka felt an ashamed and humble heat blaze on his face. He dipped his fingers in the mud and gently tilted her chin up. He noticed Zuko watching out of the corner of his eye and felt a little smug about the honor he had just been given. He traced a mask of cool brown around her closed eyes and placed a battle mark in the center of her forehead. Close was the ally who was chosen to paint the war markings on a water tribe warrior's face. The person who was selected to paint a Chieftain was given the highest honor. Sokka looked away as Lenara opened her eyes.

"Lenara, I…"

"Later, Sokka. Fight hard." She leaned the boomerang over her shoulder and walked alone to the head of the path. Zuko moved up beside Sokka and paused.

"Not a lick of fear in her, is there?"

"You're just learning that?"

"You care about her, don't you?" Zuko scrutinized the shabby peasant before him. Sokka didn't favor the Prince with eye contact.

"That's none of your concern."

"I suppose it's not." Sokka's gaze remained locked ahead, as if he wanted to see right through everything, but he spoke to his rival.

"Would you die for her?" Zuko nodded.

"Well, here's hoping you'll get your chance." Sokka continued up the path. Zuko hid his grin. The boy had a mean streak in him after all. Iroh joined Zuko.

"A rival for your girl, eh?"

"Hardly a challenge, Uncle."

"Any man willing to die for the one he loves is a worthy enough opponent. Someone who longs for the one thing his heart desires and is told he cannot have it fights the hardest." Zuko drew his sword as the Fire soldiers appeared up the path. He couldn't disagree with Uncle Iroh on that one. He wanted his place in the Fire Nation back and he was willing to give up almost anything to get it. Iroh drew his own sword. The soldiers, familiar with the concept of a Nubushi had their weapons ready and charged at the four warriors. The soldiers were shocked when the four, clearly outnumbered, shouted a loud, mixed battle cry and sprinted to meet them head on.


	4. Chapter 4

VII.

Aang and Katara heard a roar of four voices rise up the hot, sulfur-caked air they now were swimming through. Katara couldn't see the battle; everything was hidden by the trees that encircled the bases of the volcanoes. She closed her eyes as she moved along the narrow path, clinging to the rock with dry fingers. She murmured the Warriors Prayer:

"Fight hard, Aim true, and like the sea, let victory wash over you." Aang nudged her.

"They'll be fine, but we gotta move!" They scrambled up the shelves of cracked stone, taking care not to look down. The wind blew much stronger up above the battle, as if it had anticipated the arrival of a fellow Air bender. Aang grit his teeth-he had never had to fight the wind before. The cave was almost in view…

---------------------------------------------------

Lenara landed a blow on the first soldier's head, then caught the boomerang and arced it again at a line of soldiers cresting the hill. She clipped the first man's jaw before the others realized what had been thrown. Zuko ran for the thick of the battle and gave his years of sword skills a chance to thrive. General Iroh kept a close eye on the edges of the battle, picking off stragglers one by one. He threw aside one soldier, then noticed another trying to sneak up on him.

"Do you have any idea how foolish that is? Do you even know who I am?" The boy's arm grew heavy and he lowered his sword as he recognized the old man, "that's right. Why don't you just turn around and run back home to your mother." The boy dropped his sword and ran away mewling like a child that had just glimpsed a ghost. Sokka whacked two soldiers with a back-hand attack and they crumpled at his feet in a pile of metal breastplates and dirty elbows.

"Oh, yeah. That felt good." Lenara let the boomerang fly, almost caught a sword in the gut, but rolled out of the way in time and shoved the soldier down with a foot in the small of his back. He turned, sword still in hand and stood back up in time for the boomerang to circle and knock him on the helmet. His concentration rattled, Lenara used this distraction to place a hard kick to the man's groin. His sword left his hand and she swiped it up before it hit the dirt. He spit in her face and she felt the knuckles in her right hand crack as she introduced her fist to his nose.

She snatched up Sokka's boomerang from the dry grass and suddenly clutched her side. The bastard had managed to get a scrape in after all. A dark, sticky patch oozed slowly from the soft flesh under her ribs and she felt the muscles electrocute pain as she tried to lift the sword. She switched hands just as a soldier brought down his blade to the curve of her neck…

-----------------------------------------------------

Aang clawed at a dirty ledge with white dusted fingers and pulled himself up. Without hesitating to catch his breath, he bent down and pulled Katara up to the ledge. The wind whipped their clothes. Aang and Katara stumbled into the cave and glanced around. There was a lone marker that proclaimed Roku's body was below it, buried in the volcano's womb. He felt the volcano rumble. Roku knew he was here.

"Stand back, Katara," Aang shouted. The rumble grew louder. A shaft of steam broke through the ground, then another. The marker fell over.

"Aang! We've got to get out of here! The whole mountain's falling apart!" Aang had his back to Katara, arms outstretched. Katara stumbled on the unstable ground like a gaffer with too much Fire Saki in his blood and clapped her hand on the Avatar's shoulder.

"Aang! Did you hear me?" Aang turned, his eyes shone bright blue, the brown ring of his iris lost. The Avatar Spirit had surfaced…

--------------------------------------------

A gentle whisper of wind, much like a lover's breath, caressed Lenara's neck and she never had time to react to the sword. Something slammed into her shoulder and knocked her down. She regained her focus as Sokka dented the sword with his club and used a backhanded fist to knock the man down. He reached for Lenara's hand and pulled her up as Zuko took out another soldier nearby. Iroh circled close by and the four found themselves back to back, facing a pack of soldiers that closed in for the kill. Lenara felt warm fingers close around her own.

"You're hurt," Zuko growled.

"In a few moments, that's not going to matter much." They stood shoulder to shoulder and glared a rebellious teenage eye at their executioners.

"Aang, now would be the perfect time to ring that damn bell…" Sokka muttered.

"Steady. If we die, we go for an honorable cause," Iroh replied.

"Nuts to you! I'm too young to die!" Sokka squeaked.

"Haven't kissed a girl yet, huh?" Zuko eyed Sokka.

"YES I HAVE!"

-----------------------------------------------------------

Aang clutched the Hotaru. He felt Roku near, but the previous Avatar didn't interfere. Aang became aware of other souls in the cave-every Avatar, from Kyoshi to Leta, were standing with Roku. They smiled at Aang and he realized they all had the same smile-his smile! He walked to the mouth of the cave, then to the ledge. He raised the Hotaru. Katara watched from the opening of the cave, fighting the wind that curved and obeyed the Avatar. Aang held his breath, every sound died away…

…then he thrust the bell forward. The voices of millions spilled out from the loud, echoing tolls of the bell. Every language of every tribe mixed together and flowed down the volcano, spreading to blanket the nations below. The volcano began to crumble.

In the Earth Kingdom, King Bumi watched the first cracks ever made without the help of an Earth bender race up his throne room wall…

In the South Pole, people ran from the fractures that split and shaped the glaciers… The temple bell in every Air Temple resonated loudly, recalling the chants of the dead monks…

The statue at Kyoshi toppled…

The leaves of the trees of the Freedom Fighters lair crumbled and showered the ground…

Pirates watched the sea swallow their ships, the Great Divide was reduced to pebbles, level with the ground and Fire Lord Ozai noticed the flames in his throne room suddenly waver and then snuff out.

And the people, those who were meek, beaten, and worn, heard the voice of the Hotaru. They heard a choice in the confusion of voices: 'stay in sorrow or lift up your weary masses and bring down a plague upon them'. All that was left was to rally and seek out the Avatar.

VII.

Lenara shuddered, surprised as the first swelling notes of the bell rushed down to them. She closed her eyes. It worked. The bell worked! She held up the battered sword above her head and shouted:

"For Taro Hün-dai!"

"For the men of the 41st Division!" Iroh yelled.

"For my mother," Zuko and Sokka murmured together.

The ground shook below their feet, several rotted trees toppled and crashed in the forest. The soldiers lowered their swords, watching the land change before them in reaction to a bell that would not be ignored. Iroh caught a whisper of the old language; it sounded like his grandmother, the woman who had introduced him to tea. He knew from this moment on, Zuko's fate was in his own hands. Iroh would continue to support him, but he had taught the Prince everything he could in the realm as his uncle.

The last note hung heavy in the air, refusing to die, absorbed in the skin and the bone, curling up the back and lingering to run a lap in their ears before it melted away.

The first person to move was Sokka. He tossed his club to the ground. He'd had enough of senseless battles with confused men ordered to die by a tyrant. Lenara followed suit, plunging her sword firmly into the ground. Zuko sighed, cursing the sheer idiocy of it all, and hung his sword back in its sheath. The soldiers, still half intoxicated by the Hotaru's knell, stared at their captives. Zuko stepped forward.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go tell my father! Run back to him and watch your families become his personal shield, you cowards!" A few men peeled from the pack and ran for the main road. Those who remained watched their exiled Prince with a wary eye. For all his youth, he still had a commanding presence. His scar creased, the eye narrowed. A stubborn soldier (there's always at least _one_ in the history of confrontation) held his sword out to the motley group.

"That's the log calling the cinders black, Prince Zuko. If anyone here is a coward, it would be the son who refused to fight his father during Agni-kai." Lenara felt Zuko's anger I the heat his body harbored. Sokka took a step back, expecting sparks to snap in the air.

"Uh, let's not do anything stupid…and that goes double for you, Scarface." Iroh glanced at the volcano.

"Ah, here he comes." Everyone averted their eyes skyward. A long dust trail snaked down the volcano. At the head was a small boy, who ran just ahead of the wind itself. His girl companion was wedged in his arms, holding onto the Avatar's neck as he leapt from the solid rock and arced down to the ragged circle of soldiers. He landed in front of the Nibushi, eyes still blotted out. Katara unfolded herself from Aang and peered into the blue void.

"Aang?" The light faltered, faded, and Aang drew in a breath before he collapsed on his knees.

"Shouldn't have eaten those berries before we left."

"Way to go, Aang." The soldiers slowly approached the Avatar, unsure of the boy. They treated him like a relic just dug from the earth. Aang stood up and Katara tucked an arm under him. The defiant soldier raised his sword.

"The Avatar's just a boy."

"Appearances are misleading, young man."

"Thank you, General Iroh. I'm aware of the proverb."

"Oh. Well, then you won't need me to explain what _they_ are doing here." The soldiers turned from the Avatar and found themselves surrounded by their own citizens. Hundreds of villagers lined the rocky path, spread out through the trees. A couple of the soldiers pushed back their helmets to reveal local midwives disguised as guards. At the head of the path was a girl in Fire Nation armor, the rank of Commander proudly displayed above her left breast. She dropped a nod in Iroh's direction.

"General."

"Commander."

She drew her sword and the people of the Fire Nation brandished their weapons, from the family sword to the humble ax to the clumsy broomstick. Katara raised a hand to her mouth, overwhelmed by these people who had come to their rescue.

"Back away from the Avatar, soldier."

"You can't claim him! We captured him first!"

"Well, of course you did. But I'm not here to claim anything. Here's the deal, do the right thing and apologize to these people for ruining their lives with your hate and lust for battle…or you can answer to their wrath yourselves. I should warn you to watch out for the mothers," she lowered her voice, "they don't take too kindly to losing their sons and daughters." The Fire Nation soldiers didn't dare meet the eyes of the women-something deeply embedded in their survival instincts warned them that doing so would result in their rapid departure from this orb. The Commander and the two midwives approached the defiant soldier.

"So, what's it going to be?" Most of the soldiers tossed down their weapons, soft impacts coughed from the tall grass where they fell. A few still clutched their weapons like something vile they couldn't afford to part with now. The Commander strolled down the path, the corner of her mouth frozen in a sharp half grin. She was almost chin to nose with the troublesome soldier.

"You gonna give me trouble, boy?"

"N-no, m'am."

"What was that?"

"NO SIR!"

"That's what I thought you said. Listen up, maggots!" she shouted, "We have a duty as Fire Nation soldiers to protect one thing. What _is_ that one thing, gentlemen?"

"The Fire Nation!"

"Bulls-eye! And as protectors of the Fire Nation and the _people_ of the Fire Nation, we have, as of late, done a shoddy-ass job. So, from this point on: no massacres, no executions, and no secrets. We're all the same, so helmets off, maggots. You're part of the Fire Nation now!" The soldiers hesitantly shed their helmets and became men once more. Commander Xeilu signaled to the midwives and they collected the discarded weapons. Xeilu turned and folded her arms behind her back, catching Iroh's eye.

"I could really get used to this."

"No problems meeting up with the underground Fire Nation then?" Sokka asked.

"Nope."

"Thanks for your help, Xeilu," Aang finally regained his strength and held out his hand. Xeilu clasped it without hesitation.

"I told you I would be watching you with great interest, or some garbage like that. Besides, we weren't but a few yards away when your bell went off. Nearly ruined a perfectly good cup of tea; the damn thing's so loud."

Iroh asked: "What kind?"

"Ginseng." He shook his head.

"That would have been a tragedy." Xeilu slid her gaze over to Zuko.

"Zuko."

"Xeilu."

"Still got that scar, huh?"

"Bite me, "he growled.

"Not a chance. You gonna introduce me to your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Sure, and 'army intelligence' is the wave of the future."

"When did you get so cynical?"

"When Zhao lied to me. I've been tired of the war for a while now."

"But not the army, I see."

"Hell no! I've been given a leadership position with the underground movement. It's not 'General', but it'll do." Lenara handed Xeilu a flask of water.

"We're grateful. Thanks."

"No problem," she took a swallow and wiped a hand across her mouth, "Hün-dai, eh?"

"Geez, can't you Fire Nation focus on anything else or are you all obsessed with wrists and pasts?" Zuko allowed himself a quiet smile.

"We should get out of here and find better cover, Aang," Katara muttered, "there will be a lot of people coming here soon."

"Right. Okay, everyone!" Aang raised the Hotaru, "let's move!"


	5. Chapter 5

IX.

After a short debate on where to set up camp, Aang decided on a valley shrouded in pines; a good day and a half hike to the Fire Palace. The smoke from the campfires was carried off down the valley by the east wind. Xeilu set up posts every few miles with Lenara's help and everyone from the baker to the melon seller took turns manning the makeshift watchtowers. When the Freedom Fighters arrived a few days later, the construction of the watchtowers improved.

Jet was skeptical of being surrounded by Fire Nation.

"I don't like this. They could turn on us at any second." Katara overheard him and rolled her eyes.

"Grow up, Jet. These people lost their families and their homes, too. You have more in common with them than you think." Xeilu passed by, several maps rolled and piled against her chest. Jet raised an eyebrow.

"Who's that?"

"Her name's Xeilu."

"Gorgeous."

"She's a Fire Nation Commander." Jet made a face.

"Aw, it wasn't meant to be, anyway."

"You're something, Jet, you know that?" Lenara approached them.

"Katara, I have a group of Earth benders fresh from Onagi. Where should they set up camp?" Jet tossed away the stick he was shaving and pocketed his knife.

"Well, hello." Lenara and Katara shared a look.

"Hey. Should we set them up at the north end?"

"My name's Jet."

"Lenara."

"Gorgeous."

"Right. Well, I'll get them down there at least."

"Try the northeast edge. It's still open, I think," Katara replied, gathering several banners before she walked away.

"Gotcha."

"Need some help, Lenara?" Jet stood to face her, a dry piece of grass clamped in the corner of his mouth. He had all the makings of a dirty habit.

"Jet, don't be one of those guys where 'no' means 'yes'." He leaned towards her.

"So, what _does_ it mean?" A shadow fell over Jet and he rolled his gaze up to see Zuko standing behind Lenara, eyes like chips of amber.

"No," the Prince grumbled. Jet met his stare, then shrugged.

"Hey, whatever." He strolled away. Lenara felt her body relax.

"Thanks for that."

"The Avatar wants to hold ka-tsu with the heads of the villages tonight."

"To be expected. Has he spun a plan yet?"

"I don't think so."

"Good. Then he won't be disappointed when it doesn't work."

"You're feeling optimistic today. Did you talk to Xeilu, by any chance?"

"I meant the Avatar should go into this fresh, no plans, nothing but the tools he's acquired and the mission he has to complete. No one should be ordering him how to do his job-it'll come to him."

"What about the rest of us?" Lenara turned to face him.

"That's why Aang is holding ka-tsu. There's a lot of loose ends to tie up."

"And my father?"

"Loose end number two."

"What's number one?" She lost connection and her eyes wandered.

"We all have a loose end snagged inside of us. We're each responsible for tying it down." Zuko leaned close to her ear.

"Tonight. At the river-meet me there."

"I can't. I've got tower duty."

"Then I'll relieve the other schmuck assigned to your tower."

"Is there something you want to talk about?" His scar waxed violet-blue in the fading light.

"Not really. I just wanted your company." She resisted prodding him further. He was being sincere.

"Alright. I head out at half past midnight. The west tower." Xeilu passed beside them.

"Hey, the Avatar wants to see you, Zuko." It was difficult to tear himself away from the Water Chief again. Perhaps if he waited long enough, Xeilu would drift off like one of those annoying, loud bugs…

"Did you hear me? Move it!"

"Don't order me, Xeilu," he growled, his voice cold, "I'm not one of your soldiers."

"I know. At least they can follow orders."

"I don't _do_ orders. I'm a prince, not a private."

"Then act like one. The Avatar's protecting _your_ people. Do him the courtesy of providing him with your company." Zuko seethed, but turned on his heel and stalked off.

"Don't be too hard on him. He's more of a decent person than you think."

"I've heard. He tried to save a group of my peers from being a meat-shield. That was when I started having my doubts about this war."

"And your doubts about Zuko?"

"Muddled at best. Lots of people are looking at him in a new light, though. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?" Lenara's expression fell blank. Xeilu coughed out a laugh.

"Yeah. I thought so."

"Don't be so sure. Any change you see is of his own motivation, not mine. It's hard to introduce anything new into his routine. I only caught him off guard once."

"What happened?" Lenara smiled.

"I kissed him." Xeilu could almost smell the nostalgia, warm and soft as a strawberry coloring in the sun.

X.

Long shadows licked the stone steps of the Fire Palace. Dust sliced the main porch, scrambling in the wind to avoid Admiral Zhao as he ascended the steps. As he passed the columns of fire washing warmth into the pitch dark audience chamber, he thought of the waterfall Xeilu had been lost to. He couldn't suppress the smile.

The Fire Lord stood with his back to the door of his war chamber. Zhao remained outside, waiting to be invited in. He felt a chill and regarded the lamps. The flames weren't as high as they should have been. The fire in the chamber responded to Lord Ozai alone. Was the Fire Lord not well?

"I'm well enough, Admiral Zhao," Ozai answered the Admiral's thoughts. He waved a careless hand, tired of formality.

"Enter." Zhao approached the dais. Lord Ozai's throne was perched in the center, a hungry beast carved of obsidian rock. Ozai's hand was draped over the back of the chair, like a master stroking the beast to complacency.

"Did you hear the bell this afternoon?"

"That was a bell?" Zhao searched his memory. All he could recall was a torrent of voices, furious, red-throated screams that shredded his nerves raw. They were the voices of the people he had killed, children spewing threats vile enough to make a pirate blush. He had never been so terrified in his life.

"Yes, it was the Hotaru; an ancient and ultimately obnoxious way for the Avatar to get attention. It was erased from history for over one hundred years. How the Avatar obtained one now would make for an interesting story." Zhao raised his eyes to the figure above him and asked:

"What happened to the last bell, my lord?" Fire Lord Ozai twisted his torso, his broad, smooth shoulders like the masts of some great Imperial ship.

"It was destroyed. Dropped in the fires of the volcano on the Crescent Island."

"Did the Avatar lose it?"

"No," Ozai circled and settled onto the throne, "they confiscated the Avatar's tools when they captured him."

"Fire Nation soldiers _captured_ the Avatar? But, my lord, one hundred years ago, that was Avatar Roku." Ozai leaned back into the stone slab.

"Roku didn't agree with the current Fire Lord's plans for war. The Fire Lord knew how persuasive the Avatar could be and how powerful he had become. So he had Roku captured."

"To use him so he could promote the war? Or just to eliminate the competition?"

"Both, actually. The Fire Lord assured his people that Roku believed the war was the only way for the world to grow and prosper. Weed out the primitive and useless. They ate it up eagerly. And when Roku outlived his usefulness…" Ozai shrugged. Zhao flinched as the flames lining the isle roared, bright baptismal light. The pillars of flame calmed. His eyes widened, twin moons shining in the dark.

"They killed him?" Ozai's grin was sharp as chips of glass.

"His personal effects were destroyed, but the history of the Avatar still remained. We had reason to believe the records were kept in one of the Air Temples. Those monks seemed at home with words scrawled in a dead man's hand on frail pages. Since the records were protected in a chamber that only air could open, the Fire Nation waited. Time rolled on. News that the current Avatar disappeared didn't reach the Fire Nation until the year my father sat in this very seat. He ordered every Air Temple be searched to confirm the absence of the Avatar. They managed to wipe out most of the Air benders, figuring if the Avatar was among the dead, it would turn the wheel to the Earth Kingdom as the next element in line for an Avatar. That's when the real war began."

"But the cycle never continued. The Avatar is alive," Zhao raised his eyebrow, "not questioning your plans, my lord, but why continue to attack the Earth Kingdom?"

"For the fun of it, I suppose. Old military strategies die hard. The Earth Kingdom is our biggest threat in numbers alone. The Water Tribes have scrambled to the edges of the globe and the last stragglers of the Air Nation are…well, not themselves any longer. But they seemed to perform beautifully when they opened the door of the Western Air Temple's archival chamber."

Ozai savored this particular cruelty. After all, it was his latest step towards progress-medical manipulation on benders. If you used small and sharp enough knives, and if you poked just the right soft spots in their heads, you could puppet the bender's power for your own. An army of patchwork benders; no resistance, no rebellion, just vacant, pale flesh puckered in hash-marks across the skull. Soon, he wouldn't even need the likes of Zhao. The thought of the Admiral with eyes like dull glass and a thin, silver river of drool sliding down his chin made Ozai chuckle.

"So now that the Avatar boy has used this bell, what should our next step be?" Ozai rolled a cold eye in his direction.

"I was in the understanding that it was your responsibility to capture the Avatar, Admiral Zhao, and bring him before me. How is it that both my best officer and my lackluster son have failed in this task? This boy is either an extremely formidable opponent or he has had the god's share of luck, because I can hardly believe my Admiral of the Fire Navy would underestimate his adversary. That's a mistake I would expect my son to make, not you." Zhao was thankful for the shadows; his face burned with shame. This was now three children who had bested him. His chances to capture the Avatar were expiring in the Fire Lord's lack of patience for failure. Zhao read in Lord Ozai's eyes he could beg for only one more opportunity.

"If you would see it fit, my Lord Ozai, allow me one more chance to bring you the Avatar." Ozai leaned forward, his red knuckles bubbled over the arms of the throne. Desperate actions were the necessity of progress.

"I shall, because I respect your cunning. You've never been afraid to dirty your hands. So, sacrifice whatever need be to your alter, but keep in mind, Zhao, that if you return to me without the Avatar I won't spare you the luxury of banishment as I did my son. You will find yourself among the Air benders, a walking corpse on the front lines." Zhao's face was grim. He dipped a curt bow to the Fire Lord and left the war chamber.

Lord Ozai lingered in his chair. A soft scuttling sound drifted from the void in the corner of the dais. Lord Ozai gripped the arms of the throne and stood, walking towards the sound. He felt the darkness close over him like a vale. Fire split the darkness and he raised his hand, blood colored light wrapping and shaping the folds of skin lying in the oval basket. The infant's eyes held the fire; he stretched his hand out for it like Charon for the coin, greedy and captivated. A smile, almost tender, creased the Fire Lord's face.

" Drawn to the fire, little one?" The child didn't respond, but bent his back in a full curve, pushing his body higher. Ozai laughed quietly.

"Just like your father."

XI.

Katara and Sokka finished laying the kindling for the bonfire just as dusk settled over the valley. Appa dropped onto his haunches, taking up half a circle of sitting room. Zuko and Lenara approached the clearing at the same time. They shared a grin over opposite sides of the pit and shot the kindling with two powerful flames that wound and grew bright in the crackling wood.

"Was that really necessary?" Sokka muttered. Zuko stooped and rested beside Lenara. Xeilu, Iroh, and Suki entered the circle. Iroh lowered his old bones to the ground next to his nephew and Xeilu took up the spot beside him. Suki landed her warrior's eyes on the back of Sokka's head and thumped it with her fan.

"Suki!" Sokka tried to hold out his hand, but Suki disappeared into the void between his arms. Sokka felt the silk of her robe slide like warm liquid from his fingers as she pulled away from him.

"You're looking kinda thin, Sokka."

"Tell me about it. We've been eating nothing but berries and jerky for weeks now. Oh, man what I wouldn't give for some fish…but hey, you look well."

"Depends on what side of the mirror you're on. We've been holding the Fire Nation at bay for a few weeks. I guess we couldn't have stayed out of this war forever. Most of Kyoshi is burnt to chopsticks and we've been stretched thin between putting out fires and evacuating the village. "

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help." Suki smiled her thanks. She glared at Zuko.

"What is _he_ doing here?"

"Invitation only. Aang vouches for him, but I'm having a hard time trusting him."

"Good to hear I'm not the only one. I can't believe Aang trusts him! He nearly destroyed Kyoshi when he came looking for the Avatar." They both sat before the fire. Lenara dropped a wink in Sokka's direction and he turned away, pink in the cheek. King Bumi knocked a couple of boulders near the fire with Earth bending and perched on one. Jet sat on the other, avoiding Zuko's existence completely. Several other tribes' leaders began circling the fire, standing in front of Appa or bending their knees over logs on the ground. Aang pulled aside the web-like branches of a nearby willow and stepped towards the center. He felt the eyes of every person on him. In the background he head the unrushed voices of the tribespeople, Earth benders and Fire benders mixed in harmony, among food and fire. He found himself wishing he was a lowly soldier gnawing on the next sticky vegetable kabob.

"Hi. Is everyone here? Okay, let's get started. Does anyone know about how many soldiers are in the Fire Nations' army?"

"Well, there are around twenty thousand in the Fire Navy's ranks," Iroh scratched his beard.

"At least fifty thousand in the infantry, maybe more since I left," Zuko added. Xeilu gestured with her knife.

"We have the Yuu-Yan archers, the six dozen involved in special investigations, another hundred or two are spread out on eleven ships between the Poles…"

"Geez," Sokka breathed. Suki dropped her chin in her hand and muttered:

"Anyone got an extra miracle handy?"

"Hey, c'mon," Katara replied, "you forget that we have Aang. The numbers look huge, but they're no match for the Avatar."

"Not until the comet lands," Zuko was grim, "then nothing will be able to stop my father." Jet scraped at a chunk of wood with his knife.

"Is the comet really that powerful?" Iroh nodded.

"It made the Fire Lord before my own father very powerful, so much so that he was able to capture the Avatar." Zuko turned to his uncle.

"I've never heard about that."

"It's been a well kept secret, Prince Zuko," he chuckled softly, "until now. The Fire Lord drew the comet to him in order to absorb its power so his strength would rival the Avatar's."

"But that was Avatar Roku. He was a Fire bender," Aang said.

"Fire bender though he was, he didn't agree with the Fire Nation's decision to begin a war and upset the balance he had worked so hard to preserve. He brought the Hotaru out of retirement and assembled those both in and outside of the Fire Nation, those loyal to the Avatar's mission. A cataclysmic battle took place. The Fire Lord, embalmed in the comet's power, was able to bring Roku to his knees. It was rumored he captured Avatar Roku, used him as political propaganda, then killed him." The only sound was the snapping of the fire. Everyone had become lost in Iroh's words. King Bumi removed his crown and rubbed his bald head.

"So, since this comet is going to be stopping by again, we need to get to the Fire Lord before he can tap its power."

"Any suggestions on how we go about that?" Lenara raised her Hün-dai eyes to the crowd, "the Fire Lord's probably been anticipating a battle with the Avatar and his army since Aang returned. History likes to repeat itself. The comet is days away and he's bound to be extremely cautious."

"We could use the old Kyoshian trick of presenting an offering to them, then ambush the palace as they accept the gift," Suki suggested. Xeilu shook her head.

"No good. The Fire Lord has a favorite saying: beware Kyoshians bearing gifts."

"We could pose as Fire Nation soldiers and infiltrate the Great City that way," Jet replied.

"They'll know we're invaders at the first checkpoint," Zuko pulled a blade of grass from the ground. He stared at it, distracted.

"Maybe they'll recognize _you_, but they can't know every soldier in the Fire Nation."

"No, but if they doubt you, they only need look for this," Zuko pulled down the sleeve covering his left wrist, showing his family mark.

"Yeah, but it's not like everyone from the Fire Nation has one of those…" Iroh, Lenara and Xeilu all drew back their sleeves, wrists up to the light. Jet huffed, throwing his carved piece of wood into the fire.

"Okay, fine. 'Scuse me for trying to think up a plan."

"Don't get discouraged, Jet," Sokka stood up, "you just have to use your instincts."

"Oh, no," Katara moaned. Several of the tribe leaders looked puzzled.

"Oh, yes, dear sister. Okay, we know we can't get _into_ the Great City because they'll be expecting that. We can't lure them out with a gift, even if that gift is Aang, because they'll be expecting that. We can't order a full blown attack because…"

"If you don't get to the point soon, Sokka, _you_ can expect a frozen canteen upside the head." Sokka glared at Katara, his momentum ruined.

"I think our problem isn't the Fire Lord or the Great City. It's the comet."

"He's lost his mind," Jet muttered, "how're we gonna fight a comet?"  
"It's like the flood and the village _you_ tried to destroy, Jet," Katara said, "Sokka knew there was no point in stopping you because you weren't the direct threat-the water was. If we stop the comet, Ozai will have lost his only means of gaining enough power to defeat Aang."

"Yeah, only _we_ are not going to stop the comet," Aang's eyes reflected brown rings in the firelight, "I am."

"The Avatar alone has enough scruples to take on the ancient source of the Fire bender's power," Iroh agreed. Xeilu crossed her arms.

"Uh, I don't want to play devil's advocate here, but how exactly are you going to stop a comet? It's wedged halfway between the heavens and here." Aang shrugged.

"All I have to do is figure out a way to reach it. After that, hey, no problem!" The group wasn't convinced. Bumi stood up and walked to Aang.

"Remember the plank we used to put on a rock to get over the walls? I stood on the low end and you jumped on the high end and I flew up over the palace wall? Just like fake Air bending…"

"There wouldn't be a plank big enough to get that far," Aang said, crestfallen. He thought of the Earth benders, of the time Katara talked him into using Air bending through a hollow tunnel in the ground to lift a rock…fake Earth bending…

"Maybe if we used enough pressure through the ground, I could bend the air…"

"Not air, that won't work if we only have one air bender, but water…" Katara thought.

"And you'd have to heat it almost to steam," Lenara said, a smile forming on her lips.

"And make sure the person the receiving end can cope with air, water and fire," Sokka realized. They shared an excited look.

"You've got enough benders, Aang. This just might work." Bumi snorted.

"I'm glad to see you are still thinking like a mad genius, Aang." One of the village leaders stepped forward.

"What about the rest of us?" Aang smiled.

"Alright. Here's the plan…"


	6. Chapter 6

XII.

The food and conversation continued long after the ka-tsu broke. Appetites were scarce, but everyone ate simply because it was routine, because the food was there, and because it may have been the last meal some of them ever consumed. As the voices grew less muddled and more hushed, Aang Sokka, Katara, and Lenara lingered over solemn goodnight embraces. Then they parted, Sokka to the north end, Aang and Katara to the south end, and Lenara to the lookout tower in the west. Iroh unrolled his sleeping mat and stretched beneath the stars.

"It is strange to sleep on solid ground again, isn't it?" Zuko removed his armor, shed his shirt, washed his face. He would have much to face soon. Peeling everything off, even if it were just clothing and the day's dirt, helped prepare him. He stood and wiped the water from his chin.

"Good night, Uncle."

"You'll not sleep here tonight?" Zuko could tell his Uncle was not entirely surprised.

"Would you if Chi-hü was waiting for you?"

"I suppose not," Iroh grinned, "Good night, Prince Zuko." The Dragon of the West rolled over on his side. Zuko slipped his open vest around his body and hiked westward into the forest. Even with a palmful of fire, he still managed to run head first into the ladder leading up to the watchtower. Zuko whispered a colorful curse into the night sky. Lenara suddenly rolled back against the ladder, upside-down, feet hooked under the rung above.

"Oh, it's you. Nearly broke my neck ramming the ladder like that."

"It wasn't intentional," Zuko grumbled, rubbing the bruise on his forehead, "why aren't you in the tower?" She gave him a smirk drowned in conspiracy.

"That's the first place they'd look." Zuko followed her up the ladder and into the small tower. A single mat lay rolled up in a corner.

"I'll be up here for four hours. You don't have to stay, you know. You should get some sleep."

"What, you can't appreciate the fact that I want your company?" Lenara gave him a look, with a grin garnishing it off, "besides, sleep is something I won't be favored with tonight."

"Anticipating a long night?"

"Yes."

"And not a drop of Fire Saki around."

"I can do without. " Lenara scanned the carpet of pine needles below. She enclosed a stone in her hand, the weight of it reassuring.

"When this is over, what are you going to do with your ship?"

"I suppose I'll take it out to the middle of the sea, let the sun hit it just right, and then sick the wretched sucker."

"That's a shame. It's not a bad ship, you know. A bit beat up, sure. But the abuse it took was pretty amazing. Lasted through five storms, not to mention a couple of landslides."

"I wanted to forget that."

"Good times," Lenara sighed, the memory already fading, "good times." Zuko stared at Lenara, her back to him, leg bent at the knee with a toe in the dirt. Her hair had gotten longer. The moon capped the curve of her ear in silver light. He tried to drink it all in, remember everything before the day separated them. Nothing normal could exist after a battle. Not that normalcy was the order of the day in his life to begin with…

He stood beside Lenara. For four hours, the stars seemed to step from the curtain of the night as they kept vigil for the people curled in blankets below. And when it was over, the two descended back among the distractions and duties of the world. Lenara held the stone out to Zuko. He curved an inquisitive black arch above his eye.

"The first with which to sink your ship," she explained, "though why I bothered to put so much work into that helmsman's tower is beyond me now." Zuko closed his hand over the stone, then swiftly pulled Lenara to him. She felt his hand on the curve of her back, the other still coupled with hers. The stone grew hot between their palms.

"Don't move," he whispered. A flame in the shape of a falcon rippled from their fingers and climbed the cold sky. Zuko grinned.

"Learned that from Uncle Iroh."

"His talents are going to waste, you know." Above them, the stars rolled; their odyssey through the night only just begun. Their light never compared to the fire from the hands of two warriors. The falcon burned the stars to shame.

--------------------------------------------

Aang scraped the dirt around the dead campfire. The embers had long since expired, the skeletons of charred wood stacked smote at the bottom. He traced a spiral in the ash with his finger. Katara walked up to her friend, Sokka's club at her side.

"Can't sleep, huh, Aang?"

"Nope. Have you seen Mo-mo? I can't find him anywhere." Katara shook her head, pitched the club down on the ground and took a seat next to Aang.

"He's probably wondering around the woods somewhere. He'll come back when he's ready." Aang dusted his hands on his pant leg, a ghost print left behind. He turned to Katara.

"Do you think it will work?"

"Sure. It's a good plan, Aang. We want the least causalities possible and this may be the best way of going about that. I think it's the best we've got given the short amount of time that we have. We might actually see the end of this war, Aang. Can you imagine? People in my village could actually leave to get supplies and not worry about being harassed! Sokka and I could visit King Bumi! We could…"

"It won't stop," Aang murmured. Katara's excitement evaporated.

"What do you mean?"

"The harassment to your people won't stop. They'll just do it quietly. People will still be sectioned off into the separate nations, fearing the next war, unable to trust their neighbors, stockpiling weapons…this won't change anything. People have lived this way for a hundred years and I'm just beginning to try and unite the nations again. I don't know how Roku did it." Aang balanced his elbows on his knees.

"I know it seems overwhelming, Aang, but this world isn't completely lost. So you won't be able to fix everything in a year? Big deal! You probably won't be able to fix the major problems in your lifetime. What counts is that you do the best with what you're given and then pass the torch to the next Avatar. This isn't just your work-in-progress, Aang; the Avatar has been working on the world's problems for centuries. In the meantime, don't forget this…" Katara held out her empty hand.

"Uh, great, Katara…a handful of air…'cause I'm an Air bender, right?"

"What? No! Here," Katara grabbed Aang's hand, "remember you have me and Sokka. All the people you personally touched and helped will never forget what you've done for them. I'll never forget what you mean to me, Aang."

"You mean a lot to me, too, Katara. I owe you for just getting me out of the ice." Katara felt Aang's hand shadow her own. She suddenly snatched her hand away, explaining with a smile.

"I almost forgot!" She shoved a circle of gold into Aang's hand. He held it up. In the dim moonlight he could just make out the scrollwork of the Air Bender monks.

"Lenara found it at the Western Air Temple."

"It once belonged to an Air bender. "

"It still does." Aang couldn't keep the sharp edge of hope from his eyes, "it was warm when she found it, Aang." Aang's eyes got a little wider. He brought the band up to his face and smelled the wind that had soaked into the metal. He wasn't the last. There was another! He was no longer the Last Airbender!

-------------------------------------------

Sokka tossed his boomerang in lazy swoops, catching and tossing, catching and tossing. A green blur snatched the boomerang in midair, breaking the rhythm that had hypnotized Sokka.

"Sorry, but that's really annoying." Suki rested the elbow of the boomerang on her shoulder. Sokka stood and reached for it, but Suki dipped back out of his reach.

"No way. You'll put your eye out."

"Aw, give me a break. Hand it over."

"Make me." Suki smiled. She had washed the warrior paint from her face and it made her grin soft and more human. Sokka ducked behind her and held his arm against her neck, blocking Suki from turning her head. She spun, trying to knock a leg out from under him, but Sokka used her frustration as a distraction and swiped the boomerang from her hand. He flashed her a cocky grin.

"Savor your victory."

"Thank you, I think I will."

"Boys," Suki muttered. Sokka made to leave.

"Hey," he looked at her over his shoulder, "you want some help rebuilding Kyoshi?" Suki blinked.

"Well, sure, but it may take a while."

"That's okay- I've got some time off coming to me."

"We would appreciate the help."

"Count me in. Just don't make me wear the dress again." Suki suppressed a laugh.

"Deal." Sokka strolled away, leaving Suki with her arms crossed and a satisfied smile on her face. Boys, indeed.

XIII.

Sokka barely woke up when the sun rose. He thought for a moment it was still night, then noticed the dark was actually the shadow from the comet. It had approached during the night and was now eclipsing the sun as it sped towards the Fire Nation.

Sokka threw off his blanket and half ran, half stumbled to Haru. He shook the Earth bender awake.

"Sound your horn! We have to get going! I'll find Aang!" Sokka sprinted through the valley, hurdling campfires and weaving through tents as Haru sent the first notes of battle through the camp. The Fire Nation may have heard the horn, but since there was an apocalyptic rock the size of half the planet screaming down on top of them, a horn was the least of their worries.

Katara stood frozen in awe, several Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation folks around her, all watching the comet like a primitive idol. Sokka skidded to a stop beside her.

"Where's Aang?"

"Still asleep."

"Unbelievable." Sokka paused long enough to register the fiery sock of a comet was still in the sky, then pushed through the crowd of gawkers, yelling at Katara over his shoulder:

"Get Aang's butt out of bed! We have to get moving now!" Katara moved for the tent. Sokka jogged to the trees and scaled the closest. Jet raced ahead of him in the next tree and the two boys popped their heads from the tops of the trees.

"That the comet?"

"Yup."

"We're all gonna die, aren't we?"

"Yup." Sokka slid down the trunk and ran to the south end of the valley. He passed General Iroh and Xeilu drinking tea and nearly tripped over the long legs of Zuko. The Prince was propped up against a tree, head tucked into his chest and sleep still heavy on his face. Lenara, settled into the curve of his side, pressed her back against his ribs and stretched. She carefully unwound Zuko's arm from her waist and stood, yawning the life back into her eyes.

"Hey, Sokka. Where's the fire?"

"Uh, up there." Lenara tipped her face up, a breath caught in her throat.

"Is it supposed to be that…_BIG_?" Sokka gave her an incredulous stare.

"What? It just seems big, that's all." Sokka shook his head, fighting a grin.

"Wake up your boyfriend," he replied, already moving up the valley, "we have to move!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Lenara called. She glanced at Iroh, who held a steaming cup of tea out to her.

"What _would _you call him?" Lenara smiled into the cup.

"A salvageable male." Xeilu snorted tea through her nose.

-------------------------------------------------

A crowd had grown fungus-like around the Avatar's tent. Aang emerged, an unflattering frown on his young face. Sokka walked to Aang, gasping for breath.

"Everyone's up. We should head out to the geyser flats soon." Aang nodded, his eyes on the comet. He had made it through a full circle of seasons for this day. Katara topped off her water skin and slipped the strap over her shoulder. Suki, fully dressed and dusted in white face paint, approached the group. Haru and Bumi squeezed through the crowd, a few clay beads threaded into their hair as respect for the dead. Jet and the Freedom Fighter children collected outside the pack. The last to appear were those with the Fire Nation brand on their bodies: Zuko parted the crowd with his stare. Lenara and Xeilu followed, tightening belts and lacing leather armbands. Iroh, draining the last drops from his teacup, brought up the rear. Aang watched each of them, unsure if he would ever see them all again. A silence spread through the valley. It almost seemed like the end had come early.

A hand landed on Aang's shoulder and he twitched, awoken from his thoughts. He was surprised to find Zuko of all people looking down at him. The Prince was ready to face his father, his shame, and the demons he lived with. He spent years of his young life pursuing the boy that stood before him. They both shouldered so much. It was strange to Zuko-feeling somewhat protective of the boy. Did he wish for Aang to have the childhood he never had?

"Ready to go?" Aang grinned. A new friend indeed…perhaps there was hope after all.

"Yeah. Are you?"  
"I've been ready for two years." Aang reached an arm up, the Hotaru thrust above his head.

"Wait for the signal! Good luck, my friends! And if anyone has seen a white lemur…"

"He's fine, Aang. Let's go," Katara said, pushing Aang away to the forest. Appa roared his farewell. The people, a mix of Earth and Fire, men and women, warriors and mothers, waved to the Avatar, shouting their encouragement in a swell of voices, reminding Aang of a rowdy crowd at an Air Ball game.

----------------------------------------------

Aang, Katara and Sokka followed Zuko and Iroh as they lead the way through the forest, an uphill hike all the way to the geyser flats. Xeilu and Lenara hung back to talk with Bumi, Jet and Haru struggling to keep up. The group broke through the tangled brush and felt steam soaking their lungs. There were hundreds of geysers pock-marking the field, like a teenager's complexion before a big date. The air stunk of a heady perfume of sulfur and putrid water. Katara held her nose.

"Whoo! This place makes my eyes water!"  
"Yes, it's especially fragrant now, during the summer," Iroh commented, fanning the air in front of him. Aang walked out to the middle of the wide open field, thankful for the cover of steam.

"C'mon," Lenara thumbed at Aang, "that comet's not getting any smaller." They circled Aang. Sokka and Jet stood away from the group of benders.

"Okay, Bumi, Haru-get ready to squeeze the tunnels closed. We want everything routed to this hole," Sokka said, scratching his chin much like a foreman surveying his demolition crew, "after they're done, I want Katara and Lenara here working the water. Just get it loose. Don't worry about the thrust…they'll take care of that." He thumbed at Zuko, Iroh and Xeilu.

"Stand about…here…" he took a giant step in front of Aang, straddling a crusty yellow hole in the ground, "you'll need to deflect the steam, otherwise, just ride the wave. It'll be like Koi-surfing." Aang drew in a shaky breath.

"Sort of. Never surfed anything like this before."

"You'll do fine, Aang." Lenara smiled.

"Have a safe trip!"

"Don't hit your head on the comet!"

"I won't, Sokka. Thanks, everyone." A faint whistle was on the air, the steam parted and a barrage of arrows, like locusts against the sky, shot down on the group. Lenara and Xeilu sent up hot streaks of fire, reducing some of the missiles to ash. Bumi bent the ground up in a curve, then thrust it at the arrows, shattering several. Jet picked a few off with his knife. Katara quickly drew the water out of the canteen and froze it as several arrows cracked the surface. She threw Aang to the ground as an arrow caught her through her sleeve, narrowly missing her arm.

Another cloud of arrows buzzed angrily in the sky. Aang stood and released a gale at the arrows, sending them in all directions.

"What's going on?" Sokka yelled. Zuko growled.

"It's the Yuu-Yan."

"Come out and show yourselves, cowards!" Jet yelled. A storm of arrows answered him by pinning him to the ground.

"Ah, the impatience of youth," Iroh muttered, breaking arrows from the ground.

"Hold it right there, Avatar!" Out of the steam stepped a hundred Fire Nation soldiers, circled by a ring of archers. Admiral Zhao marched up to Aang.

"Almost missed my chance to see you off," he sneered. He waved a hand and several soldiers closed in. The bows of the archers cracked and moaned. Zhao surveyed the group.

"The gang's all here."

"Even _**I** _am getting too old for these intrigues," Iroh grumbled. Zhao turned to Lenara and Xeilu, both with their fists clenched tight at their sides.

"Down, girls." Xeilu frowned.

"You're healing nicely, Zhao."

"Thank you."

"I'll have to do something about that," Lenara's eyes got a little darker. Zuko stepped forward, but Iroh held him back as Aang said:

"How'd you know we were here?" Zhao didn't turn from Lenara; he had learned not to take his eyes off a predator.

"An informant among your allies told me where you'd be. This person also told me about the pitiful army you have stashed in the valley. We had to dispatch a certain snooping animal along the way…"

"Mo-mo! What've you done to him!" Aang cried, betraying his concern. Zhao ignored him.

"I am currently awaiting the Fire Lord's permission to flush the valley out. Cleanse it with fire, so to speak."

"Who's the informant?" Sokka spat. Aang studied the faces he thought he knew so well. Who was asking too many suspicious questions? Who had something to gain by turning him in? Who was sneaky enough to conspire with the Fire Nation? Who knew Mo-mo enough to capture him? Who didn't want him to realize Mo-mo was missing? He searched the souls of his companions, not wanting to believe what his Avatar Spirit finally revealed to him. Aang turned…


	7. Chapter 7

XIV.

…and faced Xeilu.

"You," he murmured. She paused, then grinned, her amber eyes flashed like an oil drop on a greasy wheel.

"I knew it," Jet grumbled, "never trust Fire Nation."

"That's right." She stepped in front of Zhao, blocking him from Lenara's view.

"Why, Xeilu?" Katara demanded, personally furious at the traitor she had saved.

"My reasons are my own. I will, however, congratulate myself on the superb act I pulled over you. You're all far too trusting. And it was no trouble convincing the underground on my sincerity, Sokka. They are Fire Nation, after all. " Sokka glared at her and she looked down her slender nose at him, almost devouring him with her eyes.

"Really, Katara, did you think I would throw all my ambitions away on some misguided vision of the middle class coming together? I do have bills to pay and a reputation to upkeep. I can't believe you wouldn't want to support my decision to be a working woman."

"Working woman? You're a hypocritical tyrant with no soul!" Katara spat.

"Sticks and stones, Katara. Try it and you're a dead woman, Red," she turned to stare Lenara right in the eye. Lenara, who had been rearing to attack, relented, but the color had faded to a gray-olive in her eyes.

"Now you need a girl to fight your battles for you, Zhao? That's pretty pathetic. This one's hardly worth the time to bruise." Lenara watched Xeilu get red in the face, but Zhao gently pushed her aside and stepped toe to toe with Lenara Hün-dai.

"I'd watch what I said if I were you."

"Why do you feel threatened by me, Zhao? Conscience starting to bother you?"

"Don't make me laugh."

"Oh, c'mon. Why not? Here's a funny story-stop me if you've heard it. It's the one about a Fire Nation Admiral who was not only defeated by a Prince half his age during Agni-kai, but also was almost beaten to death by a little girl. It must really bother you to have been bested by children…" A slap echoed on the geyser flats like a clap of thunder. Lenara shuddered, her lip split, cheek bruised. The last speck of green left her eyes. She turned her face up to Zhao and smiled.

"Guess you've already heard that one, huh?" She engulfed her fists in flames. Zuko moved to her side, joined by Iroh. Katara watched as the fellowship dissolved. Sokka suddenly whispered in Aang's ear.

"Aang, get out of here. She's giving you a distraction!" Aang stepped back into a cloud of steam and disappeared.

"Katara, go with him."

"Not a chance. They'll notice two of us gone."

"Back off, you motherless traitor!" Xeilu growled. Zuko's lip curled into a snarl as both of their backs arched like ill-tempered dogs.

"Watch your mouth, Xeilu!"

"Ooh, threaten me, Zuko! Didn't know you had a soft spot for Water benders." Lenara snatched the ribbon from Xeilu's hair and touched her finger to it. It curled as it burned.

"This little Water bender can kick your…"

"Forget your petty bickering," Zhao commanded, grabbing Xeilu's wrist, "the Avatar is gone." Lenara drew in a hot breath, green seeping into her eyes.

"You're not the only actress around here, Xeilu. I can't believe you fell for that. I told you you're not worth my time. " Iroh felt the ground rumble. He glanced at the old Earth bender King and the boy, who looked just as surprised as he.

"Uh, should we be standing here? The ground seems a bit unstable."

"It's an earthquake!" Jet yelled.

"No," Zuko murmured, "it's the Avatar."

The ground cracked as the tunnels below were pressed closed. The hot air hissed like a basket of snakes and the earth crumbled around the ring of soldiers, leaving them standing on a dry plateau. The sound of water rushing below filled their ears. The ground bucked, sending almost everyone to their knees. One of the few soldiers left on the ground with the Avatar's party pointed a shaking finger at the steam.

"Look!" A shadow emerged. The comet still hovered above him. The eyes were ice blue in the cave of his sockets, making the boy look ageless and sculpted from time. Aang didn't lift a finger to bend; he was pulling the water to him _with a thought!_

"Aang!" Katara struggled to stand, but a force between her and the earth kept her down on the ground. A patchwork of voices answered her.

_STAY DOWN._ Aang stepped over a geyser hole, the pressure rumbling the ground almost overwhelming. Zhao signaled to the Yuu-Yan archers, who had managed to stay on their feet. They let their arrows fly with assassin accuracy. Aang's body pulsed and a sudden wind ripped the arrows apart, depositing them as strips of curled twigs on the cracked dirt. Zhao pulled himself from the ground. He was not through yet. A fate worse than shame awaited him and he would truly be damned it he let the boy slip through his fingers during his last chance. He stumbled, picking up speed as he moved toward the Avatar. The boy watched, almost waiting for this man and his last feeble battle. Zhao pushed a flame into his hand. Lenara made to get up, but felt Zuko's hand on her own.

"Wait." She searched Zuko's amber eye for an answer, then turned her head in time to see Zhao throw his fist at the Avatar. Whether wind or his spirit, Aang held off the attack without so much as a twitch of a digit. Zhao roared, half mad and beat his fists against the shield that kept him from his prize.

_ENOUGH_. A madrigal of voices echoed from Aang. He held out his hand, palm up, and a gust of wind knocked Zhao away like a beaten and threadbare rag doll. The Admiral of the Fire Nation raised his head and the Avatar spoke to him through his soul. No one heard a word, but Zhao's tears were enough to tell them the Avatar was trying to reach the humane part of him, buried deep inside. Finally Aang broke his stare and a slight smile creased the corners of his mouth. The voices mixed with his own spoke to the crowd in general:

_THIS IS JUST ONE BATTLE AND IT WILL NOT END ALL OF THE SUFFERING. YOU WILL FIGHT AND YOU MAY DIE AND IF YOU LIVE, YOUR EFFORTS WILL BE SINGULAR, NOT SUDDEN AND WORLD-CHANGING. BUT TO THOSE YOU HELP, THE LEAST OF THE CHILDREN OF THIS WORLD, YOU WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN. AND WHAT SUFFERING YOU SPARE THEM, THEY WILL SPARE THE NEXT CHILD. _Aang was lost in a bright flash of blue light. They felt the ground respond, steam whistled through the holes like a field of tea kettles.

"Fight hard, Avatar," Lenara murmured. Katara let the tears roll down her face. Water beneath the surface followed a tunnel and reached the geyser under the Avatar. It ruptured, an ocean of sound, and absorbed them. Aang shot up into the sky, a trail of water and debris not unlike the comet above tagging along behind him. The shadow enveloped the speck of the Avatar and the blue light disappeared. He was gone.

XV.

A silence followed on the geyser plains, unsettling and vast. The steam had stopped, the water quieted, the ground exhausted. Bumi was the first to stand, old bones rubbing together as he stretched. He scooped up a handful of earth.

"The geysers are dead. Gave their life to help Aang." Iroh reached out for his nephew's hand and the Prince helped the old General up. Xeilu ran for Zhao, still lying in the middle of the flats. The soldiers had lost their malice, the Avatar's words having affected the crumb of humanity left in them. A couple of the Yuu-Yan had even hung up their bows to help Katara and Sokka up from the ground. Xeilu growled low in her throat and rounded on the scattered company.

"Don't even think about moving!"

"Give it a rest, Xeilu," Sokka muttered.

"Someone must answer to the Fire Lord for this!" She couldn't hide the fear in her voice.

"You know what?" Zuko's sinister grin was back, "You're absolutely right, Xeilu." He walked towards the palace without another word. The rest of the group Aang had assembled followed. Xeilu watched in shock as the soldier and every boy in the Yuu-Yan followed their Prince to the Fire Palace.

----------------------------------------------

Back in the valley, everyone was packing up camp and preparing for battle. Suki checked her fellow female warriors over. She was dusting one of the girl's eyelids with red powder when an explosion rippled it's shockwave through the valley.

"What in the world…"

"We're under attack!" one of the Earth Kingdom women screamed. Several people became nervous.

"They're going to start a panic," Suki muttered. She grabbed the woman's arm and pointed in the direction of the noise.

"There's no smoke or debris coming from the valley. We're not under attack. That blast came from the west…where the Avatar…" She released the woman and stood on a tall tree stump, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"Listen up, everyone! The geyser just blew! That's the signal to get moving!" She jumped down off the stump and raced through the tangle of people to her Kyoshians.

"May Lady Kyoshi grant us strength and speed."

"Oh, my Lady, see us through," the girls answered the Kyoshian war prayer.

"I want us at least fifty yards in front of this army at all times, ladies. Scout the brush; Fire benders don't like the trees and we'll have the Freedom Fighters up there anyways. Let's go!" The girls dashed into the flora, using their fans to push away branches. Suki swept her fan to the forest.

"TO THE FIRE PALACE!"

_-----------------------------------------------------_

_"Aang…" _

_Cold, vast, it felt like rain on a November morning…_

_"Aang…watch where you're going…"_

_"Gyatso?" _

_He opened his eyes, the blue fever of his Avatar spirit still dipped the world in ice tones. He found himself racing towards the comet. He thought he had heard his old mentor's voice and Aang felt it wasn't an illusion. _

_The dark rock of the comet, cloaked in hot white fire, loomed over him. Aang could feel the actual spirit of the comet as it bore down on him-it hated him._

_"Aang, bend the fire." _

_A different voice, commanding more than suggesting, but not unkind. Avatar Roku. Aang pushed the long flames away. He felt the rock's desire to burn him, peel his flesh off with a lick of Hell's tongue and the thought made him waver. He wasn't used to offensive fighting-it made him angrier. Fighting fire with fire was going to get him killed…_

--------------------------------------

A balloon glider touched down at the Fire Palace and a soldier scampered out of the basket, taking the steps two at a time, formality forgotten. He raced through the dark halls, his footsteps like the impending tocks of a pendulum. He skidded to a stop in front of the wide arch leading to the massive throne room. He tentatively stepped forward. The Fire Lord was no where to be seen. The soldier realized he had been holding his breath and exhaled, relieved. He and his fellow soldiers had had an impromptu Fire, Stone, Water match to determine who would deliver the bad news to Fire Lord Ozai. And he had lost. Lousy Stone.

"Are you planning on standing there all day or do you have something to tell me?" The Fire Lord's voice snaked through the tall pillars, making the soldier jump. The Fire Lord had appeared behind him.

"M-my Lord!" The soldier knelt and bowed low. Ozai sighed and stepped over the bent back of the cowering man, strolling past the dead torches, bringing each pair to life as he passed. The soldier stood and hurried to catch up. As Ozai mounted the steps to the second throne, _his_ throne, the soldier stopped at the bottom of the stairs, his foot dotting the floor in a nervous tap dance. Lord Ozai settled himself on his throne. His eyes, a pair of dying embers, burned in the dark.

"So, what news of the battle in Onagi?" His voice was patient and pleasant and to the untrained ear, he sounded almost congenial. But had the soldier the smallest inclination to be cynical, he would've discovered the calculated rage beneath Lord Ozai's calm façade.

"Uh, we are gaining ground, my Lord. There seem to be fewer Earth soldiers than we anticipated."

"Really?" Ozai sounded amused.

"Yes, sir. General Sozai feels the city will fall to the Fire Nation Navy as soon as the next morning."

And what of the attack in Omashu?"

"The Army is launching its full attack as we speak, my Lord. Rumor of King Bumi's absence has spurred our men to battle."

"Very good."

"Although," the soldier cringed, reluctant to come to the bad news, "I regret to inform you Admiral Zhao has…abandoned the Fire Navy to pursue something else. He would not disclose what this was…only that it…was…" the soldier's voice faded into the hollow hall. Lord Ozai sat perfectly still, his voice as soothing as a velvet blanket is to a frightened child.

"Admiral Zhao has his own schedule to follow. He can come and go as he wishes. Is that all, private?" The soldier could barely answer. His good fortune was truly with him today. He hadn't incurred the Fire Lord's legendary wrath! He bowed, turned and practically skipped away from the throne room.

"Oh, private, one more question, if you please." The soldier froze.

"I understand you've been scouting the western part of Area 61 today."

"Yes, sir."

"That is the area where the Hakuza Valley and the geyser flats are, is it not?"

"Y-you are, of course, correct, my Lord."

"Have you, by any chance, seen anything peculiar in the valley or on the flats this morning?" The soldier raced through his thoughts like a seasoned dealer ruffling a pack of cards. He recalled the Hakuza Valley was mostly shrouded with trees on either side, so it was difficult to spot anything from above. He really couldn't see much past the hand in front of his face over the geyser flats-the steam clouded everything from view.

"Take your time," Lord Ozai advised.

"It was…difficult to see anything below in either the valley or the flats, my Lord."

"Did you _hear_ anything unusual from those environments?" A memory, as only the stronger senses of smells and taste and sound can conjure, arrived sharp and fast in the soldier's mind.

"Yes! A horn of some sort. It sounded twice, three short notes."

"Fire Nation?"

"No, the horn was wood, not brass. Low notes."

"Ah, so you heard a foreign horn signaling something or someone in the valley. Did you descend to investigate?" The soldier squirmed.

"No, my Lord. We didn't consider it a priority." He waited for the explosion…

"As well you shouldn't. Perhaps it was a child wandering carelessly with his toy horn. You had more pressing matters to attend, I'm sure. What of the geyser flats?"

"My Lord?" Ozai resisted the urge to sigh his impatience.

"Anything abnormal on the flats?" The soldier frowned, grimacing as if from a stomach ache.

"The ground was shaking and splitting; could have been an earthquake. I smelled the sulfur, of course, but there were other smells: jasmine tea, jerky of some sort, that soap my sister likes to use…"

"Interesting," Ozai murmured.

"Well, here's what's really interesting, sir. As we were just leaving the flats, one of the geysers exploded, but the stream it shot into the sky-I've never seen it go so high before!"

"Do tell," Ozai rested his chin in his hand, indulging the soldier with his undivided attention.

"It must have been a hundred miles high at least, and it looked like something shot out of the geyser! A bright blue speck by the time I saw it, heading right for the comet…"

"Would you repeat that again?" The chin had come off the hand. The Fire Lord's voice had faltered from its liquid quality.

"It…it was heading for the comet?" The Fire Lord stood, making the soldier cower.

"And this blue speck-was it a person?"

"I don't…it could have been."

"A boy?"

"I…well, maybe…looked small enough to be…"

"So, private, what you're telling me is that you allowed the Avatar to get past you so he could stop the Souzen comet?" The torches blazed in sync with Ozai's growing fury.

"That was the _Avatar_?"

"Yes, my simple boy, it was. And that apparently means Zhao has failed. Pity- he had such a promising career. Private," Lord Ozai turned his back to the soldier, "I will forgive you your glaring oversight if you will complete a single task for me."

"Y-yes, sir?" The soldier's voice was a whisper caught in his throat.

"Bring Admiral Zhao here. I want him alive. If he is not, or if you fail to locate him in a week's time, you will receive his punishment in his place. You are dismissed." The soldier bowed a final time and ran. Ozai walked to the wicker crib, shelled by a protective metal box. The child squealed, clapping its hands as if to applaud Ozai's decision.

"Your big brother will be paying us a visit soon." The infant rolled its large amber eyes at Ozai. He smiled.

"He'll get to see everything he lacks, everything he could have had, in you. This was how I was put on the throne, you know. My brother Iroh was not supportive of our father's goals, so our father denied him the throne just days before my mother had me. I suppose any wrinkles in the royal line must be smoothed by the second child." Another solider, this one more composed than the last, saluted instead of bowed.

"Lord Ozai. An army led by Prince Zuko and General Iroh are approaching the Palace."

"Ah, excellent timing. Bring them and the children the Avatar travels with before me. Kill the rest."

"Sir, there are some of our own men with them, not to mention an entire Yuu-Yan division."

"Are you incapable of following my orders?"

"NO SIR!" The guard saluted again, then walked away at a clipped pace. Ozai stood beside his throne. The torches rippled in steady reply.


	8. Chapter 8

XVI.

The Prince of the Fire Nation, banished from his homeland for 941 days, including two birthdays, approached the steps to the palace. He tried not to let it bother him, but he was under the element of fire and too much fire resulted in a short temper and overwhelming pride. His scar sent a shockwave of bitter heat through his face, making his left eye close entirely. He resisted the urge to reach up and touch it.

This was not the homecoming he had envisioned. At the start of his journey, (hell, why kid himself?) even right up to the end, he had anticipated crowds of Fire Nation citizens lining the Great City's streets, even if it was to just catch a glimpse of the return of the exiled Prince. Zuko hated being a spectacle, but even worse, he hated being ignored completely.

Iroh squinted, leveling his hand to his brow.

"Only a handful of soldiers. My brother doesn't think that much of us."

"You were expecting an army?"

"Well," Iroh winked, "I was at least expecting a challenge." A soldier trotted down the steps, brushing past the two sentries at the bottom and meeting the army as they gathered in the dust of the bare courtyard. It pained Iroh to see the once magnificent gardens of the Royal courts reduced to so much sand and stone.

"Fire Lord Ozai requests your presence in his hall regarding your return, Prince Zuko. The great General Iroh and your friends are, of course, welcome." The soldier slid his eyes over Katara, Sokka and Lenara. Prince Zuko turned to the group behind him.

"Keep an eye out for my father's royal guards. He's probably planning to attack you while I'm inside," he muttered to Bumi and Jet. They nodded, then Bumi fixed a grin on his face.

"Well, you'd better get going, young man!" Zuko raised his lone eyebrow at the mad genius, then turned and marched up the steps. Katara met Haru's eyes and she smiled, though her face was tight with anxiety. They entered the dark palace.

Sokka and Katara lingered by the cold, gritty columns to let their eyes adjust. They were stopped by a pair of guards, noticing Sokka's boomerang.

"No weapons are allowed in the throne room, Prince Zuko."

"My brother doesn't expect us to surrender our Fire Souls to him, does he?" Iroh asked, a hint of anger in his tone. Sokka reluctantly handed over his father's boomerang, Katara her water flask, Iroh and Zuko their swords.

"Any weapons, girl?" Lenara narrowed her eyes, then sent up a tower of flames from her turned up palm.

"Just one, sir." The soldier glared at her. He led them into the main hall, the faded banners of a thousand generations wavered in the breath of an invisible monster. Sokka tried to find where the ceilings ended and discovered the darkness went on forever. Katara scanned the mosaic patterns and pictograms on the walls, blackened almost to obscurity by smoke from the lamps. The vast space made Lenara wish for the close, cramped circle of her tent. She watched Zuko out of the corner of her eye. The corners of his slender mouth were turned slightly down, but his eyes shone. He was home.

The soldiers halted on either side of an enormous archway. Zuko drew in a breath and stood with his shoulders back. He had thought of this moment since he first set foot on his battered ship. All his preparation, all his meditation did nothing to settle the storm in his gut or the rhythm in his heart. He would now face his father and complete the circle.

_-----------------------------------------------------_

_Aang's skycrawling slowed to a stop and he was able to bend the air currents to keep himself afloat beside the plummeting rock. He reached out for the flames and found them almost unbearable. This was the hateful Fire symbol, rivaled by the Fire Nation's proud but peaceful volcanoes. Aang remembered the spirits in the cave of the volcano, how they smiled his smile. They were strength. This thing just wanted to tear him apart._

_"I don't understand you…why are you angry?" The comet continued its dive and Aang bent around the front and held out both arms, trying to Earth bend the rock inside. The comet flexed and a hot fan of fire swept over Aang, burning his hands as he tried to deflect the flames. He yelped, sucking on his blistered digits, and watched the comet fall away from him to the earth below._

_"How do I stop it? What should I do?" Aang really didn't want to waste a lot of time meditating on this, but something inside whispered the Air bender mantra: 'Balance is Key'…_

----------------------------------------------

Lenara watched the flames lining either side of the throne room waiver and snap. They responded to royal blood and right now, three of the royal family stood flooding the magnanimous room. She glanced at Iroh, who glared ahead at the figure occupying the overshadowed throne. Zuko looked petrified, a piece of bone frozen in amber. Lenara slid her faded green eyes over to the man ahead of them and ignored the sensible voice in her head…

**"LORD OZAI!"** Her loud greeting echoed in the room, dropped two octaves for effect. Zuko jumped, completely caught off his guard and Sokka clutched his chest in haggard surprise.

"You wanna warn us when you're gonna do that?"  
"Sorry. Silence bothers me."

"What do you think of the acoustics, young lady?" The Fire Lord sounded amused.

"Pretty impressive. Were we interrupting something?"

"Not at all. You're welcome to approach, of course." Lenara moved, but Iroh threw out his arm, holding her back.

"Do not be so eager to enter the Dragon's lair," he whispered, then raised his voice: "We can hear you just fine from here, brother."

"Ah, Iroh, my better half," he sneered, "It's good to here your voice again. It's been what-three years now?"  
"Three years, four months and twelve days, brother."

"Has it been that long? How quickly time passes." Iroh rested a solid warning look on Zuko, flames already burning in his eyes. Zuko cooled, but his jaw remained tight.

"And I see the Avatar's companions have joined us. Welcome to the Fire Nation, although I'm sure this isn't the first time you've journeyed across our borders." Katara and Sokka both leveled the Fire Lord with a sibling glare. He stifled a laugh.

"You, young lady," he motioned to Lenara, "has my son acquired a body guard to protect him?" Zuko was about ready to explode. His father spoke as if he were not present, as if he never existed.

"Hardly, sir. Zuko's quite capable of defending himself. I'm here because of this," she held up her marked wrist, "I trust you recognize the mark." Ozai's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, the orange firelight reflected in his black orbs.

"A Hün-dai. Interesting. I thought you were all but lost to the Fire Nation."

"Well, your Admiral Zhao tried his best."

"I understand your father accepted the charges without denial and died peaceably in a public demonstration," a white flash like the wolf's grin floated in the dark, "the legacy of Taro Hün-dai's non-violent protest stands before me."

"You assume too much, Fir e Lord. I'm not my father. I won't die without a fight." He seemed satisfied with her answer, nodding his head.

"I would expect nothing less."

"Speaking of expectations," Iroh's voice was crisp," I would have thought you had the decency to address your son first, brother."

"I was saving the best for last, dear Iroh," Ozai explained, walking an unhurried pace towards them. A shadow behind the throne moved and followed, head bent down, feet shuffling heavily. Ozai stopped a few feet from the group. The firelight grew bright where they stood and Katara noticed how manicured this guy was. There wasn't a bare thread or bread crumb to speak of, not a fold out of place, not a muscle undeveloped. He wasn't bred-he was landscaped!

"Prince Zuko." Zuko couldn't bring himself to meet his father's eyes.

"My Lord."

"You've grown taller."

"I guess."

"No worse for the wear, it seems. I'm sure you've encountered the hostile peoples of this world. They…were not receptive to your being a Prince of the Fire Nation?" Zuko glanced at Lenara, then smiled in spite of himself.

"Still asking the wrong questions, father."

"Oh," the Fire Lord's tone bordered on the arctic, "well, then I shall have to be more careful about that." He pushed a mocking smile onto his face as the flames of the lamps rose a fraction.

"I don't see the Avatar with you."

"He's gone."

"And with him your hopes for the throne. What a shame."

"I've come to reclaim it anyway." Iroh looked at his nephew, shocked, almost excited expression in his raised eyebrows. Lord Ozai was less amused.

"You dare defy me again?"

"My intention has never been to defy you, father, but to watch the Fire Nation flourish. The Avatar brings balance. This war-it's chaos! Half of our Nation's people are dead!"

"A regrettable loss, to be sure, but they died for a worthy cause." Iroh raised a hand up to his sibling.

"Against their will, yes, if you consider the 41st division, the village of Sun-Yi, the massacre in…"

"Are you suggesting these people were _murdered_, brother?"

"I am not suggesting it…I am plainly stating they were murdered by your command." The Fire Lord held his brother's gaze, losing his control over his anger. His older, self-righteous other always had this effect on him, to coddle and urge him to _his_ ideals, always Iroh's way. He then remembered he had a card to play. The fire in the hall diminished.

"You wound me, Iroh. You make it sound as though I do nothing but destroy life, when on the contrary," he motioned for the slow moving figure and was handed a bulging, moving cloth, "I have helped create it."

XVII.

Bumi tossed aside his crown of feathers and the purple robe.

"Too hot for that garbage," he muttered. The crowd was restless, clutching weapons like security blankets. They sensed the attack. A few of the Yuu-Yan archers knocked arrows into their bows, comforted by the feel of the wood between their slender fingers. Haru bent a rock level to his eyes and snatched it up. He tossed it in the air to calm his nerves. Jet spit out his mangled piece of grass and clamped a fresh strand between his teeth.

"Gettin' nervous?"

"No." Haru tossed the rock higher. Jet snagged it in the air.

"You obviously hide it well. "

"Cut it out, you little mooks," Bumi wheezed, "we're being ambushed." Jet rolled his eyes.

"Oh we are, are we?" A swarm of fire arrows screamed from the outer wall, pelting the dry ground around them. Bumi swept out a patch of rock to block the next wave as Jet stamped out the burnt grass.

"It's a wonder you ain't dead yet," he grumbled.

-------------------------------------------------------

Fire Lord Ozai peeled back the corners of the blanket and apricot colored flesh glowed in the light of the torches. A sharp cry echoed the creature's surprise as it glimpsed the strangers with wide brown eyes.

"A baby," Katara breathed.

"A son," Lord Ozai stroked the child's head. Lenara's mouth opened, speechless. Iroh frowned.

"How could this be so? My sister-in-law has been gone, the Avatar rest her, for five years!"

"She was not the only woman in the Fire Nation, brother." Zuko's fists were tight balls of white skin at the aloof mention of his mother.

"This…is why you sent me away? To produce another heir?" Ozai simply smiled.

"Do I mean so little to you?" Zuko seethed, his emotions overwhelming him.

"What's wrong with a little competition?"

"You're sick," Lenara murmured.

"Sticks and stones, my dear. My son, my infant son, will bring the Fire Nation a long and victorious future."

"And what if this son disagrees with you?" Lenara stepped past Zuko to face Ozai, "will you banish him as well and every other after until you people this nation with bitter heirs? They're not soldiers you can command. They-are-your-_sons!_"

"I can see why you're attracted to her, Zuko," Ozai laughed quietly, "she's got the fire you never possessed. Tell me, young Hün-dai, since your father is no longer among the living, that means your mother is available, isn't she?"

"Okay, that's it," Lenara shook off her robe and stalked towards Ozai, rolling up her sleeves. Sokka grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away as she shouted: "Let me at him! I'll give you available!"

"Rope it in, Lenara. Now's not the time," Sokka muttered. Katara watched Ozai hand the infant back to the bent figure behind him. She caught the glimpse of blue on his brow. The figure, only a boy, bent down to expose the arrow on his head.

"Oh, my god," she whispered. Sokka and Lenara looked up. Katara had moved past them until she stood beside Iroh and Zuko.

"He's an Air bender."

"One of the very few from the Southern Air Temple." Ozai placed a hand on the boy's head, staying him as a master does a faithful dog. The boy's eyes were empty and unfocused. He let a small string of saliva ooze from the corner of his lips. A raised railroad track of a scar wound across his skull and curled behind his ear.

"What's wrong with him?" Zuko asked, slightly repulsed.

"He's just a little exhausted from the work that has been done on him. He's one of our successes, you know. So many of his fellow monks didn't survive the procedure."

"What procedure?" Katara almost wished she hadn't asked.

"We've found a way to harness a bender's abilities without the hassle of…interference from the bender himself."

"You _violated_ his mind, Ozai. Why don't you just say it?" Iroh asked, disgusted beyond all reason. The boy let out an alien sound , a cry of confusion and helplessness that summoned a tear from Katara. It could have been Aang standing before her, raped of his soul and his thoughts.

"How could you?" she found herself trembling and Iroh placed a hand on her shoulder, "he's just a boy."

"He was an Air bender," Sokka glared.

"He was a monk."

"He's just a possession to you," Zuko said in a ragged breath, "just as Mother was. Just as I am."

"And as the child will be," Ozai finished. He waved a lazy hand at the boy. The Air bender turned with the baby clutched in his arms and walked back to the cradle. No one saw his arrow glow a very faint blue.

_-------------------------------------------------_

_Aang closed his eyes…balance is key. What could balance the comet? Water? A positive fire symbol? A frozen frog? Aang's thoughts slowed as he forced himself to concentrate. Not just the comet required balance-the whole world depended on it. Fire needs water to control its rage; the light needs the dark to make it less harsh, to give it a soft edge. Old and young, rich and poor, man and woman-they all depend on one another to exist._

_And what about the Avatar? Who or what is his partner, his balance, his equal? Aang tried to come up with an answer and only succeeded in giving himself a mild migraine. Who was Roku's other half? Who was Kyoshi's? Aang turned the question on himself. No mystery there…_

_"Katara," he said, trying the word on for size. It was a perfect fit. They were a fine pair: water and wind, boy and girl, both under the symbol of the moon, two souls who bent together. _

_He opened his eyes. The comet raced for the blue rock below. His spirit flowed through him. It was time…_


	9. Chapter 9

XVIII.

"Is the Air bender prepared?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, nurse. Gloves, if you please." A Fire Nation woman slipped rough leather gloves over the man's hands.

"Mask." A silk scarf went over his nose and mouth, tied firmly behind his ears. He stood above the unconscious Air bender, one scar already snaked across the boy's head. The man held out his hand to the woman.

"Knife." The boy stirred slightly.

"Clamp." The arrow on his head began to glow.

"Smaller knife, nurse."

"Uh, sir?"

"Nurse, please! Don't worry if you forgot to wash it-the smaller knife!"

"Sir! The boy…his arrow!" She pointed to make her observation more obvious.

"Interesting reaction…do you think it's caused by the herbs we used to knock him…"

"Sir!" Another nurse burst into the circular stone-built room. The man turned.

"What is it, nurse? We are in the middle of a procedure and were instructed by order of Fire Lord Ozai not to be dis…"

"The Air benders-their arrows are…"

"Glowing?"

"How did you know?"

"This isn't comet science; it's brain tampering," he replied. The boy suddenly sat up on the raised stone slab. A wild, strong wind picked up, sending the knives and tools scattering.

"I will alert the Fire Lord about this!" the man yelled and left the two women with the Air bender.

-----------------------------------------------

Another wave of burning arrows slammed into the rocks below, sending the group of soldiers scattering. Bumi and Haru bent a wall of earth up around their makeshift army, the Yuu-Yan taking up posts along the openings in the rock.

Jet grabbed his hooked staffs, crestfallen that his fellow Freedom Fighters weren't by his side. He never realized how close he was to them, almost like brothers. Bumi jabbed a thumb at the palace steps as hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers spilled out.

"This might get ugly."

"For us?" Bumi grinned as only a mad genius could.

-----------------------------------------------

The sound of soldiers flooding out of the Fire Palace caused Sokka and Lenara to turn.

"I knew you'd send out an ambush. Doesn't matter that half those men are your own soldiers," Zuko grumbled. Ozai folded his arms behind his back. He was about to speak when a Fire Nation man skidded to a stop in the doorway, a leather glove bracing his panting body against the archway.

"M-my Lord! The Air benders…"

"Not now."

"But sir, they're reacting! Look at the arrow! The arrow!" The group turned as one. The boy had deposited the infant back in the cradle, but was standing above them on the dais, his blue arrow a beacon and his eyes strangely clear.

"_Katara._" The boy's voice was familiar. Katara moved towards him, but Sokka nabbed her hand.

"How'd he know your name?"  
"Because," she smiled, "he's Aang."

"Uh, no, he's not."

"Sokka, Aang is speaking through him."

"How do you know that?"  
"I just…know. Call it instincts."

"Har, har. Well, _my_ instincts are telling me…"

"_Sokka, bring Katara out to the geyser fields. I need you guy's help."_

"Will you quit talking to us through that kid's head?" Sokka muttered.

"_Can you believe there are other Air benders? Isn't that great? You were right, Lenara!" _She smiled.

"Aang, this is hardly the time."

"_Oh, yeah."_

"Avatar," Ozai's voice curled through the air, like smoke on silk, "it's a pleasure to finally speak to you."

"_Are you Lord Ozai?"_  
"Yes."

"_You'll be getting yours shortly."_ The light from the arrow abandoned the boy; confusion fogged the swamp of his eyes. Katara and Sokka moved for the door, but a couple of guards melted from the shadows, blocking their way. Sokka's confiscated boomerang was tucked into one of their belts.

"They don't have time for this. C'mon," Lenara touched Zuko's elbow and they ran at the guards.

"Get out of the way, Katara!" Sokka shouted, yanking his sister out of the path of the fire. Both soldiers released a fatal shot, hardly wary of injuring their crown Prince. Lenara slid under the fire as Zuko arced over it and the two landed on their feet, blazing fire. One guard dropped, the other endured and reached out to snatch Katara for a shield. Zuko blocked him and twisted the man's arm behind his back.

"Go!" he shouted at the siblings. Sokka stooped to snatch up his boomerang from the unconscious soldier and he and Katara ran through the archway. Zuko swept a kick at the man's ankle and as he fell, Lenara delivered a hard kick to the back of his head.

"Try using a woman for a shield now, coward."

"Still a traitor to your nation, Zuko? Disappointing. Your time at sea would have been better spent on your brother."

"I'd gladly trade places. Then he could carry this scar with him and all the sleepless nights spent felling worthless and ashamed."

"Oh, spare me your melodrama," Ozai sighed, "you always did take after your mother in such ways."

"Good thing, too," Iroh began to remove his outer robe, "his mother had a heart, which I am relieved to see has been passed down to my nephew."

"What are you doing, Iroh?"  
"You are obviously not going to welcome Prince Zuko back to his rightful place in the family bloodline. Ozai had an amused smile on his face.

"Of course not. He failed to bring me the Avatar. That was the deal, brother. He's lucky I don't do to him what I've done to the Air benders."

"Yes, your graciousness knows no bounds," Iroh snapped sarcastically, tossing aside his sash.

"Are you preparing for an Agni-kai?" Ozai seemed on the verge of a spat of laughter.

"No man should have to fight his father for his respect. It is either earned or bestowed, but never battled for."

"Then he will never have mine. Who could respect such weakness?"

"_I_ respect Prince Zuko. It is not a weakness to challenge the old ways, to value life, to love a woman instead of possessing her. He would not have seen these monks made into ghosts."

"Are you almost finished preaching your gospel, Iroh?"

"I call for Agni-kai: to battle for my nephew's place on the throne. You will accept?"

"Bold, Iroh, but I accept." Ozai removed his cloak, bare shoulders wide as the sea.

"Does your whole family look like they were carved from mountains?" Lenara whispered.

"All except Uncle Iroh," Zuko answered.

"More of an avalanche with him, eh?"

"Not quite. He likes to be misleading. He knows most people take it for granted that he's an old, overweight man."

"Will your father make that mistake?"

"No."

"Are you ready, brother?" Iroh nodded. The two brothers crossed arms, the challenge recognized. The Agni-kai began.

XIX.

The swarm of soldiers was surprised to see the group of rebels standing in a tight cluster, bunched shoulder to shoulder in a circle facing them. As the soldiers ran at their prey, an elderly man slammed his bare foot onto the ground and a long rip in the earth swallowed several soldiers. Another stomp bent the large slabs of rock upwards, draped with shocked soldiers scrambling at the sides for purchase. Those soldiers still left standing slowed their pace, caution now being the order of the day.

"Now what do we do?" Haru whispered.

"We fight," Jet's voice was grim.

"Nope," Bumi folded his arms, "we won't be fighting 'em." Jet turned, incredulous.

"Are you kidding me?" Bumi wiggled his eyebrows.

"We're gonna get slaughtered! We _have_ to fight back!"

Even if we did, there are more of them than us. I don't think we'll make it," Haru pointed out.

"Well, at least we'd go out fighting instead of just standing here with our fingers up our…"

"Just calm down, Jet. Not everything has to be a fight." The soldiers of the Fire Nation had stopped to listen to the boy's loud argument.

"Afraid of getting your hands dirty, Haru?"

"No, but I'd like to avoid a massacre if I could. Some of these men have families!" The soldiers twisted their necks to watch Jet's response.

"And what about _my_ family? I'm sure your sentiments never crossed their minds when they killed my mother and father!" They snapped their eyes back to Haru.

"Violence only begets more violence, Jet. Is that the legacy your parents wanted you to carry in their memory?" Somewhere in the crowd, roasted popped corn was being passed around…

A smattering of slippered feet scurried around the group of rebels. Jet and Haru lost their thoughts in the silk wrapped bodies of the girls who brandished their fans at the soldiers.

"Thanks for stalling them, boys," Suki passed Jet and Haru, a whisper of perfumed water lingering over them, "we'll take it from here."

"Wait a minute," Haru approached her, "there are only a dozen of you and several hundred of them! Your courage is great, but the odds are against you."

"Then you'd better learn to count, Haru. There's more than just a dozen of us." The boys found themselves surrounded by the Avatar's army-Freedom Fighters, Kyoshians, Earth benders, Fire benders-the ranks swelled until it rivaled the Palace guards. Bumi clapped a hand on Jet's shoulder.

"Nice distraction. _Now_ we can fight them." Jet grinned.

"Pretty sly, old man." He noticed Smellerbee and The Kid by his side. His brothers in arms.

A battle recognized, the two armies collided.

------------------------------------------------

Sokka and Katara reached the steps and reeled at the bright white of the sky. Clouds piled up grey above. The dust below was choked with thousands of warriors, mothers, husbands, and humans fighting a useless but visually grandiose battle.

"Stay close, Katara." Sokka ran down the steps, Katara a shadow's length behind. They sprinted a wide arc around the battle and continued on to the geyser flats. Above it all, the comet hastened to its master…

---------------------------------------------------

Ozai stared his older brother down. He remembered how Iroh used to fight. But Iroh's age didn't fool him-the former general was a magnanimous bastard who spouted fireballs laced with proverbs. Defeating him would sever the last weak influence on his son and serve as just punishment when he executed Iroh in front of the boy.

Ozai brought his arms to his center, collecting the fire inside, drawing from the torches. Iroh prepared to block. Ozai released the fireball skyward and it rained down on Iroh. The old man nimbly rolled away from the blasts of fire and struck out with his own fist, his fire splitting into three shots. Ozai absorbed the blow and didn't seem any less for it. He bowled a large flame at Iroh, then kicked another flare to follow. The first bounced and Iroh barely dodged it. The flame continued past him towards Zuko and Lenara. He took his eyes off his brother, distracted, as Ozai had expected, by his panic for his nephew and the girl.

Lenara snatched the water skin from the unconscious soldier and ripped off the cork. She bent the water in a high arc, killing the flame. Iroh turned back remembering the second flame, but in too little time. His charred body slid heavily across the smooth marble.

"Iroh!" Lenara yelled and moved toward him. Zuko grabbed her arm.

"We can't interfere."

"Are you out of your mind? Your father's going to burn him alive!"

"It's the rules of Agni-kai."

"So? Your uncle's fighting for your honor and you're telling me you won't help him because of an ignorant rule? Since when did you enjoy following the rules?"

"I know, Lenara." Zuko lowered his head, shame coloring his face. Ozai fired another blast and it rolled Iroh's half conscience body. Zuko clenched his fists, white teeth bared.

"The hell with it." Zuko let go of Lenara's arm and marched toward his battered uncle.

"Enough." Zuko bent down, offering his hand to Iroh. The old man gratefully took it.

"You have a lot of guts, boy, dishonoring Iroh during an Agni-kai. Is nothing in the art of battle sacred to you?"

"His life is about the only thing sacred to me at this point," Zuko stood with Iroh's weight around his shoulders.

"You two deserve one another- traitors to the Fire Nation and miserable sympathizers for the lesser savages of this world." Ozai raised his hand.

"It's fitting you should go this way. Zuko…Iroh…surrogate son to surrogate father…try not to stain my floor when you die." Ozai pushed out his arm, but Zuko reached out and grabbed his father's fist in his hand. Ozai tried to push his arm forward, but it stayed effectively blocked. Zuko's arm remained taunt, shaking from the strain. Ozai grunted:  
"Foolish efforts, boy."

"What are you afraid of? Scared I may actually overpower you, father? Is that why you banished me? Was I too young to know how powerful I could have been?" Ozai's arm inched backwards.

"You're a coward. You don't have it in you to harm me." Zuko narrowed his eyes.  
"Getting a little tired of you talking to me like that." Ozai suddenly lashed out with a kick and sent his son and his brother to the ground. He stood above them, a pale figure against the fire.

"Well, that's a shame, Zuko, because I was rather enjoying it." Ozai's fist glowed. Iroh grimaced, bracing himself for his departure from this world. It took him a few moments to realize his brother was screaming.

Ozai clutched at this throat, his attack forgotten. He gagged, drawing in a wheezy, dry breath. Iroh watched his brother's reaction down to the bottoms of his feet. It was there the old General noticed Lenara, her left hand locked tight around Ozai's thick ankle, her right hand stretched out over the marble floor, water forming a puddle like a shadow beside her body. Her gaze was intense; her eyes no longer green-they were blue. Ozai let out a final wretched breath and folded in on himself, collapsing on the hard floor like a banner that has lost the breeze. Lenara released his ankle as Iroh and Zuko stood. She shook the last drops from her hand.

"Is he…"

"No, just dehydrated. I've heard of Water benders using themselves to take in and pour out water. I was hoping it would work if I could absorb it from another person."

"Looks like you can." Zuko made sure Iroh could stand alone, then knelt down by his father.

"He's not going anywhere," Lenara murmured, getting to her knees.

"Will _you_ be able to, though? Took a lot out of you, it seems," Iroh replied, his voice raspy, but regaining its old strength. Zuko held out his hand and this time, Lenara didn't push it away. She was on her feet, swayed, and heading for the ground in under two minutes. Her body shook from the exertion as Zuko lifted her in his arms.

"I learned to be this graceful on my own, you know."

"Save your energy. What now?" Zuko asked Iroh. His mentor nodded his head at Ozai.

"We have disposed of the Fire Lord. Our task here is finished. Even if the Avatar fails, the Fire Lord will not be able to harness the comet's power."

"Yeah, instead we're getting crushed into granules by a huge, fiery rock," Lenara coughed.

"Nice to see you're looking on the bright side for a change," Zuko replied.

"I am, actually. If this is how I have to go, at least I'm here with you two. Poor Aang-if he can't stop the comet, he has to watch us all die."


	10. Chapter 10

XX.

A shadow fell over the mist of yellow rot as Katara and Sokka reached the geyser flats. They could actually hear the crinkles of the fire as the comet approached, filling up the sky like an ominous eye. The two stopped in what felt like the middle of the flats. Sokka framed his mouth with his hands.

"AANG! WE'RE HERE!" A blue glow came from a geyser close by.

"_Great! Katara, you gotta come up here with me. It's the only way this will work!"_

"Uh, Aang? I don't think I could get up there. The geysers are dead. Bumi said they'd never…"

"_Really? That's too bad. But that's not what I meant. Close your eyes, Katara. Let me find you."_

"Okay." Katara slipped close her eyes. Sokka stared at the sky, the comet showing no sign of slowing.

"C'mon, Aang-do something heroic here…" Katara's necklace gave off a faint lapis lazuli glow. Her hair lost gravity and tumbled around her face. Sokka watched her lips part slightly and reached out to her.

"_Don't worry, Sokka,"_ spoke a mix of Aang, Katara, and a host of voices unseen,_ "we'll take care of it. Wait here." _Katara's eyes flew open. They were as blue as the Avatar's.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Suki pushed away a Fire Nation soldier and briefly glanced at the sky. She saw the black ball of the comet against the grey curtain, but doubled back when she glimpsed two shimmering shapes, side by side, closing in on the comet. Haru paused, the looming shadow a slipcover over his face. Jet followed Suki's gaze and like a ripple invading the chaos, the battle was forgotten. They stopped to watch the boy, waited for him to take away the fighting, the long nights away from family, the paranoia of dying in a strange land or even worse-living another day fearing death to watch those whose middle names and favorite songs they've learned die before their eyes.

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Aang felt Katara's fingers slip through his and he let out his breath. He hadn't been aware he was holding it, but the comfort of having her there, of feeling whole, reminded Aang of simple things, the smaller picture. _

_"Hey, Aang."_

_"Hey, Katara." He gripped her hand to assure himself she wouldn't fade. Katara was a tracing blue light, a sketch of her physical self. She glanced at the world below._

_"It doesn't look as bad from up here."_

_"Nope."_

_"I can see the South Pole!"_

_"Yeah."_

_"And the Yukito Mountains…and the Crescent Island…there's Bumi's palace…wow, it's covered in Fire Benders…"_

_"Katara?" She turned to Aang, "if we don't make it, if we can't stop it…"_

_"We will Aang." Her undying belief in him: Aang couldn't help loving her for it. _

_"But if we don't…" he felt sweat roll down his back even in the cold pocket of space. Katara didn't speak, she simply waited for Aang. _

_"Katara, everything's going to change after we finish this. It won't be as much a problem if we can't stop the comet and the world becomes dust around our ears, but if we do…then our journey ends. We can't be together anymore. I'll have to continue traveling and working on fixing the world from all this. And you'll have to go back home…" A pool of wavy tears lined Aang's eyes. He felt Katara's thumb on his cheek, her hand curved around his face._

_"I'm home when I'm with you, Aang. No matter where we go, I'll always feel I'm home when you're with me." Aang drew Katara to him and wrapped her in his arms. Nuts to his age, to being a monk: he would take care of her for all of his days. _

_"Aang-let's finish this." They took each other's hand, holding their remaining hand out to the comet. Aang grunted, straining to pull the comet towards them. The sky grew lighter, the fire hotter. Katara watched Aang, feeling useless with no water to bend. The comet was close, fire licking holes in their clothes._

_"I can't bend anything up here, Aang! What can I do to help?"_

_"Give me your other hand!" She felt Aang's hand close over hers. _

_"Try to find the Avatar Spirit, Katara."_

_"I don't know if I can."_

_"Just concentrate. Don't think about the fire, think about your element. About the Haku waterfall!" Katara bent forward, eyes shut. Her forehead touched Aang's, their noses just barely apart. His arrow reflected a blue circle on her head. _

_Katara remembered how it felt to climb the falls of Haku, her feet just a surface for the water, mist stuck to her arms: cold, calming squirts of water running tongues of green in the light. She felt the water on her palms. Her eyes slowly opened and she was delighted to see it wasn't an illusion-her hands were actually wet!_

_"Aang!"_ He smiled, raising his head away from hers.

_"You've connected with the Avatar Spirit of water, Katara. I think we'll be able to stop it now."_

XXI.

Sokka watched Katara's body stand rigid as a grave marker, casting a hazy shadow on the yellow flats. The comet seemed to have somehow stopped its decent and Sokka eyed it nervously. He had never thought, when the world ended, he'd be all alone. He wished that girl he had kissed was with him. Heck, even Suki's company would be appreciated. Or Lenara's. Sokka kicked a pebble, convinced his fate was sealed. He wouldn't go out fighting like his father. He wouldn't be hunkering down with family, waiting for the end. He'd stand here, a battered boomerang clutched in one fist as a huge space nugget dropped from the sky and pressed everything pancake thin. It bothered him that Aunt Woo was right…he was the cause of his own misery.

"Man, "he said aloud, "what a way to go." The silence that greeted him couldn't have been more vast.

--------------------------------------------------------

Zuko and Iroh approached the dais and mounted the steps to the cradle just behind the throne. Lenara moved and Zuko helped her stand. The three peered into the depths of velvet and silk. The infant regarded them with a finger in its nose.

"He looks like Ozai," Lenara muttered.

"Yes, it's a shame he couldn't have inherited your mother's eyes, Prince Zuko," Iroh commented, "they were the warmest greeting after a long day on the battlefield. Ah, well, I am satisfied in seeing them in you, between your tantrums." Lenara asked:

"What should we do with him?" Iroh pinched the child's big toe gently, making the baby grin and drool.

"He's part of the royal family. We will protect him."

"He's _NOT_ my family," Zuko muttered venomously. Lenara's voice was patient.

"He's your brother, born of your father, Zuko. He's blood, not your competition." Zuko turned away from Lenara.

"You're lucky, you know. You and Sokka and Katara-having a sibling makes you part of a kinship no one else can claim. You can confide and conspire with them and know it's almost a part of yourself you are talking to. Hey," she turned the Prince's chin gently towards her, "don't turn your back on him. Give him the chance you never got. Live the life you never had with him. Your brother is more of a gift than you realize."

Zuko touched his hand to hers, then move to face the child. He studied the stub nose and round mirrors of its eyes reflecting Zuko's face. A swath of raven hair, a pink fingernail, the smell of life fresh from the woman…he turned to his uncle.

"Do I have to?" Iroh chuckled, knowing a joke when he heard one. Zuko sighed. From exile to traitor to protector to brother in a few short hours. This world was taking pleasure in tormenting him, he swore it.

-------------------------------------------------------------

_A hot wave of air swept back Katara's hair. Aang felt the start of a grand sunburn on his nose and cheeks. He gripped Katara's hand. _

_"Ready?" She nodded. They felt water on their fingers and opened their palms out toward the comet. The flood was released. The flames receded, grew, pushed, relented, consumed and died. The rock dripped in the void of space, pocked with the scars of its travel. It hung in the sky to face the Avatar's judgment. _

_Aang and Katara exhaled and the rock grew cold, ice curled and clotted the jagged surface. Aang used Air bending to float to the other side of the comet, Katara in tow. He was becoming exhausted, bending air currents, the rock, the water, the fire…it was almost killing him. He swallowed a ragged breath and wiped his pale forehead with his arm._

_"You okay, Aang?"_

_"Yeah. We're almost done." He sucked in a cold breath and forced his arm out, using the small traces of earth in the comet to push it away. His elbow locked; muscles of a twelve year old taunt and shaking. Katara dropped her hands on Aang's shoulders, capping the boy's frame and holding him upright. He felt the adrenaline dam behind his shoulders, the blue glow from his arrow almost blinding, his head ached, a thousand voices from the past whirled in his brain, Aang's vision went white…_

…the explosion wasn't expected.

XXII.

A deafening roar poured down from the sky. Bumi and Suki shielded their eyes from the bright light of the explosion. A panicked gasp escaped the battlefield residents and Haru capped his ears as they rang with aftershock. Jet chewed a blade of grass thoughtfully.

"Hey, Jet! What'd ya think that was?" Smellerbee whined. Jet kept his eyes on the growing clouds of powder.

"The end of the war, Smellerbee…the end of the war." The crowd was silent, slowly realizing he was right. A Fire Nation guard sheathed his sword. Two women folded their arms around one another. Bumi snorted.

"Hah! I knew he could do it!"

"What should we do now?" Haru asked. Suki bent to help an injured Fire bender.

"Tend to the sick and the wounded. Then, let's get the living home."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jet lifted a young kid off the ground.

"Shouldn't we celebrate or something?" The Kid asked. Suki passed him, struggling under the weight of the man.

"There will be time for that later. Life doesn't stop just because the war did." The Kid contemplated this, which took several minutes since Suki had used words with more than one syllable. He scooped up two Earth benders, one under each arm, and stomped up to the palace.

----------------------------------------------------------

As Iroh lifted the infant from the cradle, the walls of the palace rumbled, dust seeping from the stone as it separated from the ceiling. The floor cracked and the lamps toppled. A loud explosion tipped the cradle over as Iroh hugged the child to his chest. Zuko braced Lenara. She watched a fissure split the palace in half, warm steam rising from below. It cast an orange glow like Hell's floodlight on the unconscious Fire Lord. The floor broke away in pieces, devoured by the hole that seemed to curl back the lip of the marble floor. It rushed to swallow Ozai. Lenara felt pressure on her shoulders from Zuko's slender fingers.

"Just don't get yourself killed, okay?" Zuko ran past her and hurtled the first gaping crack, stumbled, regained his balance, and kept on running. Ozai's leg was dangling off the edge when Zuko reached him. He grabbed his father's arm. It was warm almost to the point of fever.

"Father," he grunted, "you have to wake up…I can't carry you…" Flames bubbled up from the hole, specks of lava freckling the marble.

"Is everything in this screwy nation built over a volcano?" Lenara yelled.

"Yes!" Iroh answered, "Prince Zuko! Hurry!" Zuko knelt by his father, shoving his head under his father's arm and braced himself to stand. Suddenly, the arm around his shoulders locked around his neck and a second hand slammed into his back. Zuko toppled over the rim, stopped only by an uneven chunk of marble below his foot and his fingers that scratched for the ledge.

"Still trying to do the noble thing. I could always rely on you for that," Ozai laughed. Zuko watched his father's fist spark to life. The flames reflected in his hollow eyes…and faded as his father's face was engulfed in fire that sent him shrieking to the edge. The skin peeled back from his left eye, the stench overwhelming. Another blast sent Fire Lord Ozai over the fractured floor to the rumbling abyss below. Zuko watched his father burn and become claimed by the fire. His nightmares were far from over. This would haunt him until he died. Any chance of reconciliation was now lost. It almost bothered him…almost.

Zuko pulled himself up to see Iroh and Lenara, side by side, lowering their arms. Iroh clutched the child in the crook of his other arm. Lenara sprinted down the dais and hopped across the disintegrating floor. She reached Zuko as the space between them crumbled and fell. Zuko pulled her into his arms, unable to watch someone else go over into the volcano.

"Forgive us," she mumbled through his shirt, "we couldn't bear to lose you." She pulled away and motioned to Iroh.

"Get ready to run, Iroh! You only get one chance!" Lenara bent the remaining water from Katara's flask across the canyon and froze it with a single breath. Iroh backed up and then ran at the bridge, the infant pressed to his side and covered with his old oversized hand. He slid, but found his balance and pushed himself across the ice just as the fire consumed the bridge.

The three ran from the throne room and down the dark halls now lit with an eerie distilled light. They burst through the doors and down the steps of the palace, past the Kid, who held a man under each arm, past Suki and Jet baring their own burdens, past the whole crowd who stared at them, wondering if the hounds of Hell were at their heels.

"Get clear of the palace!" Lenara shouted over her shoulder, "it's going under!" The crowd panicked, people fell over each other as the ground bled lava and the walls fell. Cracks like hot veins traced a path from the hole where the Fire Nation Palace once stood to the survivors collected several miles away.

"If it ruptures, we're dead," Jet muttered.

"I don't think it will, " Iroh replied, "it has finished it's work." The ground stilled, the gardens of dust settled. The only sound heard was the chirp of a baby coughing history from his lungs.

------------------------------------------------------------

Sokka stumbled backwards in shock as the explosion above shook him out of his thoughts of dying alone. He touched his sister's shoulder. She didn't respond. He panicked.

"Katara!" The sky was dark with debris. Sokka searched for a trace of the Avatar's blue light, anything organic among the crumbs. Sokka searched his sister's face. He recalled his decision to help her find Aang when they first met the Avatar. He did it because their father had told him 'a warrior protects the village, but Sokka must protect his sister first'. In the end, he couldn't have done anything to save her and it was the worst feeling in the world-to step back and let someone else fight and die while he stood, useless and feeble. He wrapped his arms around his sister.

"I'm sorry, Katara." He forced himself not to cry…and was failing. He felt warmth, pressure, and a rumbling of sound through his jaw as a voice said:

"Sorry about what, Sokka?" Sokka pushed himself away to stare at Katara. Her eyes were a lively brown, hair hung askew around her face, but she was very much alive. Sokka threw his arms around Katara again and she laughed.

"What's with you, Sokka? Did a rock fall on your head?"

"_No_. I'm…just glad you're okay." Katara smiled. Sokka glanced behind her.

"Where's Aang?" Katara drew her hands up to her mouth.

"He passed out…I didn't see…" Sokka watched the sky, saw a small orange dot against the grey-blue clouds, and ran for it. Aang was falling too fast and Sokka doubted he would make it in time.

"AANG!" he screamed, "WAKE UP!" Aang neared the ground. Sokka had a horrible mental picture of pancakes again…

Aang stopped on a cushion of air. He levitated for a moment, then see-sawed down on a gentle breeze. He landed in Sokka's outstretched arms. Sokka didn't know how Aang managed to save himself. Perhaps his Avatar spirit reacted to mortal peril?

Aang cracked open an eye and gave Sokka a weary smile.

"Hey, Sokka…what's for breakfast?" Sokka shook his head. Aang stood upright and clutched his head. The migraine still lingered.

"Where's Katara?" Sokka turned and found his other half jogging up to them. The three stood together for a moment, unable to realize what they had just accomplished. They were just glad they could all stand with each other again. The sun finally broke through and ushered in the beginning of a new time: the time _after_ the war.


	11. Chapter 11

XXIII.

Epilogue

Three weeks passed since the Fire Palace fell and the comet in the sky shattered. Nothing changed overnight. For the most part, Suki had the right idea-tend to the sick and the wounded and then get the living home.

Prince Zuko was honored a majority agreement among the people of the Fire Nation his citizenship and was made Fire Lord Zuko during a small ceremony held out on the site of the fallen palace. General Iroh was offered a place on the Fire Lord's council, but gently declined it for a better position: Grand Tea Master.

The Avatar was thrown a four day celebration, one day for each element in the balance. During the celebration, held in the Hakuza Valley, people of all nations hesitantly but enthusiastically mixed with one another, slowly beginning to smooth the rifts the war had caused. It would be a long time before they could trust one another, but at least they could break bread together.

After the celebrations, the work began. The Fire Navy arrived home and those whose loyalties did not hinder them helped to rebuild. Lord Zuko advised any Fire Nation citizen who wished to help rebuild the Palace would be more than welcome, but anyone who participated in the war, including all generals, commanders, and admirals, were ordered to rebuild the villages they helped destroy. Zuko himself was scheduled to help rebuild Kyoshi at the end of the month. It wouldn't make everything right, but it was a step in a direction away from his father.

Whom did not show up among the ranks was Admiral Zhao. He had disappeared, any trace of him lost in the excitement and new order. His belongings were reported missing, the door to his hut torn open. Zeilu was also no where to be found.

Mo-mo was found gnawing on a brown apple in a cage stuck among the brush of the Hakuza Valley. Appa, who had spent the better part of the week in the shade, was fat with a healthy unbridled diet of fruits, leaves and nuts. Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom children were rapt with wonder at the two Air Temple creatures.

Bumi returned to Omashu to survey the damage. He accepted Lord Zuko's offer to rebuild the Palace, but advised Zuko the Earth benders in turn would help with any other reconstruction projects _after_ they completed Bumi's initial plan: to rebuild the Avatar temples, including the four Air temples and Avatar Roku's demolished ruins.

A handful of Air benders were discovered in the rubble of a nearby shed on the palace grounds, petrified beyond all reach. How they managed to escape the palace and shelter themselves in the shed was anyone's guess. Aang, at first, was heartbroken to hear what Fire Lord Ozai had done to them. He looked his brothers in their vacant eyes and mourned only a moment before coming to a decision:

"Well, now I'll be able to watch over them. I can take them back to the Air Temples and…"

"Aang, I doubt they can Air bend on their own much anymore. Unless someone kept an eye on them every minute, they could really hurt themselves," Lenara cautioned, "Ozai has stolen everything from them except the ability to follow orders. Whoever they were, they don't exist anymore."

"I think they do. That Air bender I spoke through remembered he likes toads and his favorite color is yellow. They can get through this. I _know_ they can."

"But Aang, who will watch over them when you're away?" Katara asked.

"The other Air benders, of course." Lenara cocked her eyebrow.

"You wanna run that by me again?"

"These Air benders came from the Northern and Southern Air Temples. The Air benders from the Eastern and Western Air Temples are still out there."

"How can you be sure _these_ guys aren't from the East or West?" Sokka said. Aang pointed to the nearest one.

"Because these are all boys. Monks lived in the North and South. _Priestess_ lived in the East and West."

"Girl Air benders?" Katara's eyes got bigger.

"Yep. The bracelet Lenara found at the Western Air Temple was a tight fit on my wrist. It belongs to a girl. They're out there all right."

Two weeks after the end of the war, a council was held in the battered but functional Omashu Palace. All Nation leaders were asked to attend. Lenara came to represent the North Pole, Katara and Sokka the South. Aang was the lone representative for the Air Nomads.

--------------------------------------------

As the leaders took their seats around King Bumi's dining table, the walls drew back and Bumi walked to the head of the table, dusting off his shoulders.

"Darn place is falling apart. Slabs don't fit together, needed to be rebuilt." He sat down, folding his hands like a politician.

"So, where do we go from here?" The table was silent. This was the question everyone had spent some time thinking about. Bumi continued:

"Well, we sure as heck can't all be pals right away. We know that. And we all can't throw ourselves into our separate kingdoms and tribes and what have you and forget this ever happened. So, what should we do?"

"How 'bout it, Aang? If anyone knows reconciliation, it's the Avatar," Jet replied.

"Lay off, Jet," Katara snapped, "he shouldn't be expected to solve every problem just because he's the Avatar. And while we're at it, who invited you anyway? You're not a nation leader. "

"Sure I am. The newly formed League of Freedom Fighters. Our business cards come out next month."

"Okay, enough," Lenara sighed, "we know this is going to take a lot of work to repair the damage done and we'll just have to accept some of the scars that were made may never heal," she met Zuko's eyes and something unspoken passed between them, "but balance doesn't just come from the Avatar. It comes from us all. Every nation has to put forth the initiative to retain that balance or we'll be in the same mess as before."

"But the Air benders are almost wiped out. We're not even sure if they will survive the work Lord Ozai did to them," Suki explained, "if they pass and something happens to Aang, what will happen?" Katara smiled and stood up, fingertips pressed on the tabletop.

"Aang and I will be working on that, Suki. We will be on a search and rescue mission for a few months to locate the other Air benders."

"Great, Aang gets to chase girls while we stay here and build houses," Sokka muttered. Katara jabbed him in the shoulder.

"How will we be able to contact you if there is an emergency?" an Earth bender elder asked. Aang set the Hotaru on the table.

"I've changed the bell a little, Lenara. Hope you don't mind." She gestured for Aang to continue.

"All you need to do is ring the Hotaru. It'll reach me where ever I go."

"Where will it be kept?" Zuko asked. Aang stood and carried the bell over to the Lord of the Fire Nation.

"With you." Zuko was taken aback by his former adversary's trust. He took the bell and dropped a nod of respect to Aang.

"Oh, and let me know when the huge Koi start spawning…that's good riding!" Zuko quirked a brow at Aang as Iroh chuckled.

"He's right, you know."

"Okay, that's settled," Bumi wheezed, "if I could meet with the Master Artisans of the Fire Nation-we need to go over some capital selections. And that frieze…yuck! Needs some flair!" The council adjourned, most of them agreeing to meet the next week to discuss the building and task schedule.

Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Lenara trotted down the steps towards Appa. Several mats were rolled up on the saddle, bags packed, tents tied. They were heading home.

"Avatar. A moment, please." Aang turned to find General Iroh descending the steps with a bundle in his arms. Zuko removed his ceremonial helmet and scratched behind his ear.

"We want to thank you for what you have done. The kindness you have shown my nephew and I will not be forgotten."

"Don't mention it," Aang waved it off. He peered at the infant in Iroh's possession, "who's this little guy?"

"The Prince of the Fire Nation." Katara and Aang gasped. Sokka smacked a palm to his forehead.

"Here we go again."

"Lay off, Sokka. Zuko's brother is one of the first children of the New Dynasty. He has a lot to look forward to." Lenara scooped up the child and smoothed back his hair. He yawned, a gaping pink hole that pushed his stub of a nose up and then settled it back below his eyes.

"Have you thought of a name for him yet?" Zuko allowed his brother to curl his tiny fingers around his hand.

"Taro."

"Really?" She caught a grin before he dropped back to his serious demeanor.

"You're an amazing guy, Zuko, you know that? My father would have been flattered." She touched a kiss to the child's forehead and handed him to Zuko. The Fire Lord fumbled, unfamiliar with this kind of territory. His arms stuck out awkwardly.

"You'll make a great brother. I just wish I could be here to watch Taro grow up."

"Getting ready to head back, huh?" Zuko tried not to sound somber. He knew she would be going back; he would have been a fool to think otherwise. Perhaps his greatest tormentor was ceaseless hope. He passed off his brother to Iroh and sealed his hands into fists, fighting everything inside him that wanted to escape and be known. The last way he'd want to be remembered was as a mumbling idiot who couldn't express how devastated her departure was making him feel.

"Then have a safe trip home." She paused, taking Zuko in down to the last delicate line in his scar. 'This is much harder than I expected,' she thought.

"Is someone…waiting for you at home?"

"Yeah, a whole tribe full of 'em. I should just get going, before this gets saccharine." She stuck out her hand, just as she had when they first crossed paths below the deck of his ship.

"I'm glad you found your place again, Lord Zuko." He paused, then reached out and clasped his hand around hers. Before she could shake it, Zuko pulled Lenara to him, circled an arm around her waist and whispered, "I'll never forget you."

"Stop it. They're staring at us," she blushed, but didn't pull away.

"Let them stare." He leaned forward, brushed his brow against her own and touched his fingers to the nape of her neck as he kissed her. She shut out all sound as she leaned against him. Sandalwood would never smell the same to her again. The slight pressure around her waist faltered as he lost his nerve and it was enough. She ended her last moments with Zuko trying to understand everything he told her in the kiss. She smiled.

"I can't believe you won." He recalled the Agni-kais they had had, their unfinished battle. He couldn't believe it, either. Just like that, it was over. He smirked and she left his embrace. She walked past Sokka, who made a retching sound until silenced by Katara's elbow. Katara and Aang shared a smile as they mounted Appa. Lenara sat curled by Sokka, knees drawn up to her chin. Aang took the reins.

"Appa, yip-yip!" They soared away from Omashu. Lenara couldn't bring herself to look down. She wrapped her arms around her knees. Sokka silently put an arm around her shoulders. He kept his promise: to be there for Lenara when Zuko wasn't. She leaned on him as the bison they rode tore through the clouds and beyond the history they left below.

--------------------------------------------------

A ragged and weary Appa touched down at the North Pole a month later. Lenara stretched and reached over a dozing Sokka to nab her pack. Aang jumped down from Appa's head and Katara followed.

"Do you need to stay here for the night? Appa looks exhausted." Appa shook his massive head. Aang grinned.

"I think we'll be okay."  
"Suit yourself." She watched her fellow tribespeople approach them in the fading light. A scattering of stars tried impatiently to outshine the dying sun.

"Well, guess this is it. Aang, Katara," she embraced her fellow Water bender and the Avatar in turn. She noticed she hardly had to stoop down to Aang.

"You grew, Aang."

"I did?"

"Guess you were too busy to notice. Tell 'Sleeping Beauty' up there I said goodbye." Katara and Aang climbed back onto Appa. Katara placed a calculated kick on Sokka's leg and he tipped over.

"Wh…what? What's goin' on?"

"Oh, nothing . We're just saying goodbye to Lenara. Ready to go?"

"Oh no, you don't!" Sokka scrambled down from Appa, still half asleep. He tapped her on the shoulder as he cupped a yaw in his hand.

"The dead has arisen."

"Very funny. Leaving without waking me up, huh?"

"You looked so peaceful, Sokka. Would've broke my heart to disturb you."

"Yeah, well…" he trailed off, unsure of how to sum up his relationship with this girl. She was by far the most confusing.

"Sokka! Hurry up!" Katara yelled. Sokka shot her a venomous glance, then pulled off the glove on his right hand.

"We'll see you around, right? I mean, you can't stay away from _him_ for too long…"

"I don't plan on seeing Zuko again, Sokka. If it happens, it happens. But how's a Fire Lord and a Water Tribe Chief supposed to be together if they're worlds apart? A lemur may love a bison, but where would they live?"

"You had me right up until the lemur." Lenara laughed and brushed Sokka's hand away. Instead she rested her chin on his shoulder as she embraced him. Sokka realized this was enough and held her for a moment. Then he was back on Appa and the bison climbed the orange sky, his packed footprints the only token she had of them.

The tribespeople welcomed her home, but she longed to be in her own tent with her thoughts. She would regale them tomorrow. She excused herself and made her way to her own tent. She scraped the back of one of the huskies, his tongue winking in and out, clouds puffing up from his mouth. The tracks of her Agni-kai were gone, smoothed over by a few recent snows. She raised the heavy leather hung over the door and ducked inside her tent.

The steamy, rich smell of soup greeted her. A clay spoon knocked against the pot. Vegetables tumbled and disappeared. A woman in a green dress, faded around the knees, stoked the fire. Her eyes flicked up for a moment, regarding Lenara, then returned to the fire. She collected her long silver hair in a bunch around the nape of her neck as she blew on the embers. Lenara set her pack down among her belongings and began to peel off her robe. It was good to be home.

"Hello, Lenara."

"Hello, Mom."

"Dinner's almost ready. Pour us some tea and then you can tell me how you got that scar on your hand." Lenara smiled. 'Skipped my hair and moved right on to the scar,' she thought, 'yes, it was good to be home.'

------------------------------------------------------

Katara yawned, watching the sky grow pink. The stars would succumb to the sun soon. She felt a hand gently take the reins from her and turned to see Sokka nudging her off of Appa's head.

"Go keep him company. I'll take it from here." She surrendered her place without a word and climbed back to the saddle. Aang stared down at the black ink of the river below, lines of silver threaded by a graying moon. Katara sat beside him and he turned away from the world below.

"On to Kyoshi?"

"Yup. You _sure_ you don't want to stop by the South Pole?"

"I'll drop Gran-gran a line to let her know we're okay. She'll understand."

"You know, I'm glad you and Sokka came to find me. I know I couldn't have made it without your help."

"Happy to do it, Aang. And I'm glad you were able to forget your fears and kick some Fire comet butt!"

"I don't know how long it will take me to find the Priestess Air benders, Katara. You don't have to come with me, you know."

"And leave you alone to be swarmed by a bunch of girls? No way! Don't even try to talk me out of it!" Aang chuckled. He didn't think Katara would refuse. Aang felt Katara's hand bump into his and he cupped his hand in hers. They sat on the broad back of a flying bison, connected in this way as the dawn broke through the clouds. It was starting out to be a pretty good day.

**The End**


End file.
